Rock the Block!

The Close To My Heart promotion for National Paper crafting Month is Rock the Block! You can get an exclusive E-size stamp set and the My Creations® Collage Cubes for just $15 with your qualifying purchase. Join the Craze! When you place a minimum order of $25 from the Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Book, you can get two new products for just $15: the My Creations® Collage Cubes (a Spring/Summer 2012 sneak-peek product!) and the exclusive My Acrylix® Rock the Block E-size stamp set. That’s a retail savings of almost $30! You're going to love the Collage Cubes and the Rock the Block stamp set, which work together for interactive, 3-D fun.
*Offer valid December 19, 2011–January 31, 2012. Tax and shipping/handling apply. Some restrictions and exclusions apply; see your Consultant for full details. Only items available in the Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Book count toward your qualifying purchase total.

This is a pic of the stamp set. I love it!!


Here are pictures of my completed projects using this promotion. I created the collage cubes using pictures of our family and I also created a card and a two-page layout using the exclusive stamp set. I used the CTMH Dreamin' paper pack for all of my projects.


To create the collage cubes my first step was to pic out six 4x6 pictures and coordinating papers.



Next, I inked all edges of the cubes and tray with a coordinating ink, I chose chocolate ink to go with the Dreamin' paper pack.

I then cut the paper and pictures to cover each block. I also added a few stamped images from the coordinating stamp set. Here are pictures of all six sides of the finished product.







I also decorated the tray. Here are a couple of pictures of it.



While I had out paper, ink, and stamp sets, I decided to continue on my creative roll and make a card and 2-page layout using the Rock the Block stamp set. I must say, I love this stamp set! I can see so many great ways to use each of the images!



Let me know what you think! If you are interested in ordering the Rock The Block special, please contact me at jlhicks5@sbcglobal.net or visit my website at www.ctmh.com/lhicks Thanks!!

Elemental Layout Featuring Circles (Lots of Circles!)

I love all the colors featured in the Elemental Paper Pack and I love layouts with Circles so I decided to combine the best of both worlds! This is one of my favorite layouts because it was something new and different for me. It features a pattern that I had not used before, Staccato from the Imagine How-To Book. It also features my favorite subjects, our family! These pictures were from our first day of school this year. It was Ryan and Nick's last first day of school since they are seniors this year and Kendall's first time to go to Pre-K. What an exciting and fun day! The circles were cut using the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge. I seriously don't know what I did before I had this cartridge. I love it!! All pieces of the layout is inked with Dessert Sand ink and we used the Trinity Alphabet and Picture Perfect stamp sets. Let me know if you have any questions! Thanks!!

Typeset Layout

I created this layout for our October Scrap Night. It features the CTMH Typeset Paper Pack. I love this paper pack and had so much fun creating this layout! The template is Dynamic Design from the Cherish How-To Book with a few personal alterations. I used the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge to create the border, background, pennants, small circles, ticket, and journaling tag. If you do not have this cartridge yet, it is an absolute must have item! It is like having 6 cartridges in one. Not to mention the other goodies that come with it, 3 stamp sets and 3 sheets of Dimensional Elements! It is available on my website, www.closetomyheart.com/lhicks or you can email me at jlhicks5@sbcglobal.net and I can get one ordered for you asap! All pieces of the layout were inked in black ink. I wrapped black hemp around the photo mats and used Black, Juniper, and Vineyard Berry ink on the Milepost Shapes. I used the Trinity Alphabet, Blue Ribbon, and Vintage Type stamp sets. I love the way it turned out! Let me know if you have any questions! Thanks!!

Christmas Layout

I designed this layout for our monthly scrapbook club for December. It features the Believe paper pack. The template is Hat Trick from the Magic How-To Book. I used the Printing 101 Cricut Cartridge for the title. The base pages are inked in Sweet Leaf and all other pieces are inked in White Daisy. I love the way the White Daisy ink softens the page! The stamp sets used were The Works Alphabet, Believe, Christmas Cheer, and Holiday Magic. I added a lot of Silver Glitz Gel and sparkles. They are hard to see in the picture, but they really make the page shine! I can't wait to put pics of the kids on it! If you have any questions please let me know! Thanks!!

Roxie Layout - Wild At Heart

We completed this layout at club last month. I just love the new paper packs and the Art Philosophy Cartiridge! It makes those cute flowers oh so easy!!!

Recent Layouts

Here are a few recent layouts that I have created. Let me know what you think! :)

June Club Layout - June 24th - 6:00 PM

We will be making this layout on June 24th at 6:00 PM at the First United Methodist Church in Cleveland, TX. Please come join us for an evening of fun and creativity!!

10 Things on the Tenth

I have been reading a few blogs that participate in the 10 things on the 10th post and I thought I would participate! It has been awhile since I last posted anything, sorry, TAKS testing season was much more intense this year than what I have been use to and life in general has just gotten so busy. Hopefully, I can do better this summer! For my list of 10 things today I thought I would post ten things I LOVE about summer! It is finally here and definitely my favorite season, so here you go ten things I love about summer on June 10th!

1. Getting to spend more time with my family! I love my little family and I cherish every moment we spend together. Summer allows us all to slow down and enjoy each other a little more!

2. Sleeping in! Being a teacher certainly has it benefits and being off in the summer and getting to sleep in are on that list! Even though we teach summer school, it starts a little later and we still get to sleep in until at least 7:00!

3. The Beach! This could also go on the list of why I love where I live! It is only a short hour and half drive to the beach. This summer we rented a beach house for a few days and really enjoyed spending time relaxing and just hanging out together at the beach!

4. Teaching Summer School! Yes I know, most people would not see this as a positive, but I absolutely love working with my students and I couldn't imagine not getting to spend these 6 weeks with them.

5. Afternoon Naps! It's nice to be able to take a nap during the hottest part of the day!

6. Swimming! We have always had some type of above ground pool in the backyard. I love that we can just go outside and swim whenever we want. Maybe someday we will have an in ground pool put in, but for now this works for us.

7. Vacation! Every summer we go on some type of vacation, whether it is a short trip to San Antonio or a week at Disney World, our family loves vacation! Can't wait to plan our trip!

8. Backyard Cookouts! My hubby loves to grill and we all love to eat so summer gives us a great reason to enjoy the backyard together. We are working on adding a patio and deck this summer!

9. More Scrap Time! I am able to get a lot more scrap time in during the summer. It is nice to just be able to sit down at my table and work on my own pages!

10. Food! As I mentioned, we love to eat and summer time supplies the best food! Fresh vegetables and fruit from the garden, a huge slice of watermelon with a little salt on it, a big double dip ice cream cone, popsicles, etc. The list could go on and on. Everything just tastes better in the summer!

Well, if you have made it this far you know a little more about us and our crazy summers! Enjoy your summer and stay safe!

Hope for Japan

Close To My Heart is offering an "A" size stamp set to benefit relief efforts in Japn. 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. For more information - http://www.jeanettelynton.com/

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

If you would like a set let me know. I will be placing an order this week! Thanks!

Gardening

Well our family decided to plant a garden this year. I am not really sure how we came to this decision or why??? Considering none of us were blessed with a green thumb, I think praying for the plants to live may be our best strategy! So here are a few pics of our attempt at planting a garden, which I am proud to say we accomplished, now keeping them alive may be a little more challenging! Even if we don't grow anything in our garden we have some great memories of working together to plant a garden!! I love our family time!!



Kendall checking out the seed choices


Ryan and Jefferson helping "Supervise"


Planting, Planting, and More Planting!


Still Planting!


The Finished Product! We are so proud!! :-)

Miracle Layout

We will be making this layout on Friday, March 25th at 6:00 PM at the First United Methodist Church in Cleveland, TX. Please join us for a fun evening!

Mayberry Layout

Our group made this layout in February for club. It was a great night, everyone enjoyed the layout, the food was amazing, and we all had a great time! Hope you enjoy the layout. It was a challenge to take the Mayberry papers and make them "boyish", but I think it turned out great! Let me know what you think!

Lovin' Wings!

I absolutely love the new Wings Paper Pack! I have had a great time creating a few layouts and cards with it this weekend. It was nice having a little extra time to play this weekend since we had a Snow Day on Friday. Of course we didn't get any snow, but it was nice to stay home, be warm, and create with some of our great new products! The new Idea Book is available. Just let me know if you need a copy! Happy Scrappin'!

January Club Layout

We will be making this layout on January 28th at 6:00 PM at First United Methodist Church in Cleveland, TX. Please let me know if you have any questions. We would love to have you join us!

Stamp Set Winner(s)!!!

I must say that I am so pleasently surprised in how many people played along in this contest! Thank you all for your wonderful guesses. They ranged from 116 to 902 with most people guessing around 400-500. I actually didn't even realize how many sets I had as my guess was 386. Well, I was way off! The actual total number of stamp sets is 541!!! We had two winners Karen guessed 540 and Brandi guessed 542! Good job ladies! Please email me your address and I will get your stamp set to you asap! Thanks again everyone for participating. Please check back often! I will be posting another contest later this month to celebrate the fact that I have been a CTMH consultant for 3 years. Be sure to participate as I will be giving away more new products!! :-)

New Scrap Area!!!

These are a few pics of my new and improved scrap area! I don't have a seperate scrap room so I had taken over the dining room area in our house. With limited space and an assortment of storge units it was hard to know what I had and then I could never find the items I needed. So the only thing I wanted for Christmas this year was organizational/storage items for my scrap area. I really thought I would get a few new storage bins and some paper trays, but my wonderful husband gave me an entire scrapbook room makeover! I got paper racks, storage cubes, embellishment centers, ribbon racks, the whole nine yards! Then our great friends gave us a flat screen tv so the room would be complete! What a terrific Christmas! Now everything is organized and has it own labeled place. It is great to sit down and scrap now that I know exactly what I have and where everything is located!

To celebrate my new room, I thought I would give something away. So, all you have to do is look at the picture of the stamp sets and leave a comment on this post of how many CTMH stamp sets you think I have altogether. All of my stamp sets are in the storage bins on the shelf. It's that simple and the person with the closest guess will win the Bohemian Alphabet set pictured. I will post the winner in one week on December 9, 2011. So let me know what you think of the new space and also guess how many stamp sets I have! :-)