Happy Birthday Butterfly

I'll never get tired of this gorgeous butterfly, one of the stamps in Close To My Heart's "Find Your Style" stamp set!

Random stamping (inside) is ALWAYS fun to do!

I used: The Paper Studio papers, M*s ribbon, M*s orange gems, lace, Cuttlebug
CTMH: Find Your Style stamps, happy birthday stamp, inks, Opaque Pearls

Happy Birthday Bird

A little bird told me it was a special someone's birthday!

I used: The Paper Studio papers; Cuttlebug for cs; sheer dotted ribbon
CTMH: Liquid Applique on bird's tail and wing; foam squares; Opaque Pearl for bird's eye; Happy Birthday stamp; heavenly blue, hollyhock, and chocolate inks

Why Use Studio J? -- A Video by Tresa

Thank you to Tresa Black, a Close To My Heart consultant, for producing and sharing this timely video! Great job, Tresa!

Watching her video showing how easy it is to create a memory album for a special person motivates me to get busy and do this for the people whom I cherish! I've been using Studio J and LOVE it -- you can see some of my layouts if you scroll down under the Studio J slideshow.

Why use Studio J?

1. Studio J is an ADDitional tool -- online scrapbooking -- to help tell your story (not a replacement for traditional scrapbooking). It's an easy, fast way to catch up on those memory albums' pages or to make a treasured gift for someone special. It's an exceptionally handy tool for anyone working on genealogical projects--scan, save, and drag into a layout!

2. It's EASY! Studio J walks you through each step. You can begin in minutes. You can scrapbook ANYwhere you have an Internet connection! There’s even an app for your iphone!

3. There is no commitment, nothing to purchase, nothing to download. You can play and create with Studio J for FREE. No need to sign up to begin to use the program. You when and if you want to purchase your final pages do you pay for those.

4. If you want to have duplicate layouts printed for family members (siblings' memory books, for example), you simply order duplicate copies. Easy peasy!

5. Quality SHINES! Studio J layouts are printed with the same silver halide process and 100-year+ paper used by top photo printing companies, so your prints will last for generations.

6. If you try and love Studio J, you can save money by purchasing a 5-pack or an annual membership for discounts up to 50% off! These make great gifts too--remember Mother's Day and birthdays are right around the corner!

Contact me for more details.

Click here to try Studio J free now! EnJOY!

Clean & Simple Cards

We had recently commented that we made it through the winter without any colds or flu strikes. Then spring came on the calendar. Soon after, DH got zonked out of commission with a case of the stomach virus. It's Murphy's Law that when one goes into a doctor's office, one comes out with something worse! That seems to have happened this past week. It wasn't 24 hours after his doctor's office visit and he had the BUG.

I've been forcing liquids into him to prevent dehydration. Each day he feels a bit better. Today he ate chicken noodle soup broth. So far, so good!

Meanwhile, since our crazy weekend snow and sleet storm and the poor guy nearly living in the bathroom, I made these CAS (clean and simple) cards. That's all I could eeeeek out, and they were fun.

Hoping to get our house back to "clean" and life back to "simple" soon!

Stay well! Don't let the bug getcha!

Bliss -- Celebrate Life!

Bliss is one of the new paper packets from Close To My Heart, and it's sooooo peaceful and elegant!

My card design was inspired by a CTMH consultant, Vicki, and I changed it up a little for my card. When I saw her card, I knew I had to use a doily! Thanks, Vicki, for your awesome inspiration!

I used CTMH Bliss papers, the Celebrate Life stamps, Gray Wool ink, Opaque Licorice pearls, and the Say It In Style butterfly stamp. Ribbon is non-CTMH. Scalloped circles are Marvy punches. I left the inside blank for a personal handwritten note.

As long as it keeps snowing here, I keep warm in my studio -- it's just too cold to clean up the gardens yet! But we're SO ready for real spring!

Patience, I know...

I'm sad that our Sunday cardmaking workshop had to be postponed, but I'm really looking forward to next Sunday! (I will not be telling Mother Nature of our plans this time.)

Thanks for visiting!

Mayberry -- Happy Birthday Card

Just a quick clear acrylic card for a special someone's birthday!

I LOVE creating with clear cards -- once you plan how to hide the inside, it's so much fun! The back is always a surprise too.

I used CTMH Mayberry papers, medium white paper flowers, summer green buttons, a dimensional element tag, pop dots, Olive ink, and an old "Happy Birthday" stamp from CTMH.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Sophia -- Happy Easter!

We've been teased with warm, springy days and now the daffodils, pansies, forsythia, Bradford pears, and magnolia trees are in full bloom. And today we awoke to sleet and snow, and got hit with a cold front that forced me to light the fireplace again and hide away in my studio!

But that's not all bad...CTMH has so many pretty papers and stamp sets to play with, I could hide forever...as long as I have a supply of M&Ms and water, that is!

Happy Easter! is made with an 8 x 7 inch cardstock base folded to an 8 x 3.5 inch card. (This will fit nicely into a business sized envelope.) The papers are from the new Sophia packet--I wish my closet would have these colors in it! Have to work on that!

The egg stamps are from CTMH's "Easter Eggs" set. CTMH inks are Hollyhock, Pear, Goldrush, and Blush.

I threw in a few Sparkles and white grosgrain ribbon, a grassy patch and a punched border (M*S*) and voila! Instant Spring!

When I saw Sharli's grass on her BBQ card a while back, I remembered that cute idea, and thought I'd include my own green grass on this spring card. Thanks for the inspiration, Sharli!

Happy new week --

Glad you stopped by!

Hope and Help for Japan

Jeanette Lynton, CEO of Close To My Heart, wrote this on her blog and I thought it was worth sharing:

"We've all been reeling with the images of tragedy and devastation in Japan. If you're looking for an easy, real, practical way to help relief efforts, then I invite you to contact your Close To My Heart Consultant!

Typically, our A-sized (stamp) sets retail for $7.95 (U.S.)/$8.95 (Canada), but the "Hope for Japan" set will be available through April 30 for just $5--and Close To My Heart will be donating 100% of the profits to the American Red Cross to benefit relief efforts in Japan.

If we all do a little, together we can do a lot. Let's show our support and together, provide real HOPE for Japan!"

Most of us can't begin to imagine what the people in Japan are enduring. We can continue our prayers for them!

If you're reading this post and would like to place an order, simply email me: janehaas7[at]gmail[dot]com! Thank you!

More Signs of Spring

While enjoying a little spring break from the routine, I found these bright spots in God's creation!

"My God is an awesome God!"

Out of the dark, dreary winter, He brings new life!

I praise and thank Him!

Today ...

I will take a break from the stresses of life. For an indefinite time. Spring is a time to do some house cleaning -- self cleaning -- refreshing and renewing.

I've declared a spring break for myself, away from technology, in God's Word, and among friends and family.

See you later! I'm going to go fly a kite.

When I come back, watch for some blog candy! I'm getting very close to 20,000 visitors. Thank you all so much!

A St. Paddy's Blessing

Happy St. Patrick's Day next week!

We're going to a green parade this weekend,

and following that, we're hosting an Irish dinner

for family and friends.

The luck of the Irish!

Remember to wear your green!

Hope you find your pot o' gold!

I used CTMH stamp sets:

Heartthrob (large hearts for the shamrock)

Heartfelt (swirl for the shamrock stem)

Be Mine (small hearts for small shamrocks)

Ink Pad: Clover

CTMH sheer ribbon, embossing powder, and cardstock

Free MyAcrylix Block during March!

Purchase $25 in MyAcrylix stamps and you'll get a FREE MyAcrylix block!

You can choose a 3"x 3" or 2"x 6 1/2" block size. (These are great sizes for stamping versatility, and if you already have them, it's nice to have a second!)

Contact me to get your FREE block! janehaas7[at]gmail[dot]com

This special is good through March 31st. Hope you take advantage of this offer!

Studio J Slideshow

These are some of the Studio J layouts I completed using Close To My Heart's digital scrapbooking tool. Fun! Simple! Fast!

Click to see the layouts larger individually in the album.

Thanks for looking! Happy scrapping!