CTMH Convention Post #2 - Home Office Tour

CTMH Home Office Tour

One of the highlights of this year's convention was the opportunity to tour the Home Office.  Not only was it fun to get a little peek behind the scenes, but it was so fun to meet more of the wonderful people that work behind the scenes!  We got to meet many members of the art department and they were all so cheerful and welcoming!

Check out this amazing Paper Chandelier in the entry way!  Now that's a statement piece.

First Stop - Photo Session

When we arrived, Home Office staffers greeted us and split us into groups for the tour.  Our group headed over the sign in front of the building where a photographer took a picture of each one of us.  I'll post my pic as soon as I receive it!

Art Department

I think my favorite room on the tour was the art department!  It was so clean and organized.  Surely they make a mess when they are creating, right?  I can't believe they keep it this clean all the time.  Since they are working on projects for the next catalog already, I imagine some super cool stuff is hidden in those cupboards.  I wonder what stamp sets are in those containers?  Do you think the color denotes which catalog the sets are in?

One of the staffers assigned to a portion of our tour was Rachel Lynton!  That name might not mean anything to you, but as someone who has been with the company FOREVER, it was so fun for me to see her all grown up!  She is one of Jeanette's children and now she works in the art department.  I'm dorky enough that I actually asked her to sign my catalog next to some of her artwork and of course I took a picture of her cubicle.

Jeanette's Office

One of the reasons that I have stayed with Close To My Heart so long is because I believe in Jeanette.  I have been with the company for 22 years and there have been some growing pains along the way, but I have never doubted that Jeanette truly does what she thinks is best.  I am so grateful that she had the vision and fortitude to create a company that has made such an incredible difference in my life.  I can't imagine where I would be without it.  I have learned so much and I have so many incredible friendships because of this company.  It has impacted every aspect of my life!

 Photography Studio?

I'm actually not sure what this area is.  I know it's not the backdrop they have in the videos so I'm wondering if they use it for photo shoots.  Our tour guide might have told us, but sometimes it was hard to hear depending on where we were in the group.

  

Memory Lane

One of the hallways had all of the catalog covers displayed.  I know my first catalog is pictured here, but I can't remember which one it was!  I may have to ask someone at the home office.  I kind of think it might be the second one from the left.

Group Photo Time

We ended our tour with a photo of our little group.  What a fun day!  Thank you for giving us a behind the scenes tour Close To My Heart!! 

Gift Card Pop Up

Gift Card Pop Up inspired by my buddy Gail Vought.

I needed to create some projects for my workshop while I was at convention and my roomie Gail had a cute pop-up card that she had made.  She gave me permission to copy it so I switched up the size and made it a standard size card and used different paper/images.

It was so fun to make and what a fun way to share a gift card!

Let me know if you'd like me to share the details and dimensions.  If you're in San Diego, you can come learn how to make the card in person at my Workshop on Saturday!

Close To My Heart (CTMH) Convention - Post 1 Leadership Day

Wow!  What an incredible week.  It was so awesome to be back in Salt Lake City with CTMH.



The constant challenge of working full-time, working on my bachelor's degree and running my business has left me stretched thin for a long time.  I am so glad that I still made convention a priority because I came back feeling empowered with the strength I need to keep going.  Plus I will be graduating in December so there is light at the end of the tunnel!!

Leadership Day!

Leadership is always my favorite part of convention because it is a smaller group and the focus is on business.  Don't get me wrong!  I love artwork and creating, but it is wonderful to get some good solid information that helps me run my business too!  This year we were treated to 7 different sessions that covered everything from where the company is going to growing/supporting your team, using social media and handling life's challenges while running your business.

I got so much information from Leadership session that I have a ton of material to share with my team on our Facebook group all year long!

Reconnecting With Friends

One of my absolute favorite parts of convention is the opportunity to build new friendships and strengthen existing ones.  It is fun to share ideas and laughter as we try to absorb all the amazing information.

You are WELCOME here - Viva Las Vegas!!

Are you ready to join this incredible company so that you can take part in these fun adventures?  I would love to have you join my team!  Not only will you have access to the incredible training and events that Close To My Heart (CTMH) provides, but you will also have access to my Team Facebook Page where I share information, tutorials, videos and virtual team meetings!!  Contact me or sign-up on my website today! 

Next year we're headed to Las Vegas for convention!!

CTMH June Stamp of the Month Hello Foxy

I have been having so much fun playing with the June Stamp of the Month - Hello Foxy.  Not only are the foxes super adorable, but I love the flower wreath too.  This set is one of those versatile ones that you can use all year long for a variety of projects.

Busy Life Tip:
It seems like I'm always running around at the last minute and I love to include a handstamped note, card or tag when I'm dropping things off, delivering orders or returning things I've borrowed.  So, whenever I come up with a sweet and simple idea like this bag, I quickly stamp and assemble a few of them.  That way I can just glue them on a bag or punch a hole in the top and make it a tag and I'm done.


Items used for this project:

• Bags - Bought them from Michaels
• Raspberry and Willow Cardstock
• Available individually or in this great combo pack
• June 2017 Stamp of the Month - Hello Foxy
• Black Memento Stamp Pad
• Colored in with Tombow Markers

You can purchase the Close To My Heart items featured on my retail website.

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Create Your Own Custom Rainbow Pad for your Unicorn

There are some stamps, like this adorable Unicorn from the Little Dreamer stamp set, that just need to be stamped on a rainbow pad.  Shouldn't all unicorns be colored like the rainbow?  

Today I'm going to share a fun tutorial on how to create your own rainbow pad.  

Step One:

Choose the colors for your project.

Step Two: Place 3-4 folded baby wipes on a plate or tray.  Gently squeeze reinker bottle to dispense ink.  Place the colors in the order you like.  A good rule of thumb is to start with the lightest color and build up to the darkest color.

Step Three: 

Place the stamp across the colors at the angle you prefer.   Tap up and down to completely ink up the stamp.  As you tap up and down you may want to slightly move the stamp on the pad so that the colors blend and you don't have a harsh line between colors.

Step Four:

Stamp your image and add to your project!

Products Used are available in my Close To My Heart (CTMH) retail store!

• Reinkers (Available in 41 gorgeous colors!)
• Little Dreamer Stamp Set

• Little Dreamer Paper Pack

• Glitter Paper
• Shimmer Trim 

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Bunnies, bunnies...everywhere... Another fun RHR Retreat!

Once again we had a fabulous weekend at Rabbit Hill Ranch!  I drove up Thursday evening so that I could get things set up and then my guests began arriving on Friday morning around 9am.  We stayed Friday, Saturday, Sunday and then checked out at 2pm on Monday.  It was still hard to leave, even after having an extra long weekend there!

I'm catching up on sleep and editing my photos so that I can share them all with you and show you all the fun we had.

One of my favorite parts is the opportunity to relax and create.  I brought along my cricut and prepped items for my upcoming Cricut and Flower classes at Foothills Adult School and I played with the adorable February Stamp of the Month.  It was so easy to come up with bunny ideas when I was surrounded by bunnies at Rabbit Hill Ranch!

We asked the owner if she knew how many bunnies were hidden in the decor on the property and she said she has never counted but there must by over 500!!  There are bunnies in the paintings and there are ceramic bunnies and there are bunnies on the plates and the cups...  I don't blame her for not counting!

Well here is one of the sweet bunny cards I created while I was hanging with my buds at Rabbit Hill Ranch.

Products Used:

• X7218B Dreamin Big Paper Pack
• S1702 Easter Bunny (only available February 2017)
• Watercolor Pencils 
• 3174 - Blending Pen

You can order your Close To My Heart products on my retail Site.

CTMH - January Stamp of the Month

Just a little over a week left to pick up this amazing stamp of the month.  I have had so much fun using this stamp set.  I love it because it is super versatile.  By adding the "thank you" and the "you make me happy" sentiments, they made this set one that I could use all year long.

Here's one of the sweet and simple cards I made with it.  

Wouldn't these be perfect for wedding "thank you" cards?  You could adjust the colors to match the wedding.  You could use the flower spring on place cards for the table and on signs throughout the wedding.  It would be gorgeous.  But why stop at a wedding?  You could use these for mother's day, birthday, a tea party... See what I mean?  Versatile!!!

You can purchase your set, along with your other Close To My Heart necessities at my retail site.