Hey Everyone!  Great News!  Close to My Heart has TWO campaigns going this month!  The first one is called Free For ALL.  With this offer, you can get a FREE JPG file on Studio J, CTMH's digital scrapbooking program, with no purchase required!  Just head over to my website http://jennyr.myctmh.com click on Studio J, create an account and get started!  If you would like to have Close to My Heart print it and send it to you, you can do this, but you will be charged for the printing and shipping.  With a JPG file you can put it in emails, blogs, etc.  It's a great chance to check out how fun and easy Studio J is!

The second campaign is called You and Me Stronger Together.  This campaign is continued from last month with the You and Me kit.  This month there is no minimum purchase required and you can get the kit for just $15!  An incredible deal, since it is worth $34.95!  The reason they have extended this offer is to help raise money for the American Red Cross to aid the Flood and Tornado victims in the Midwest and Southern states.  Part of the proceeds from each kit purchased will go to the American Red Cross.  What a great offer!  You get an amazing kit and you get to help those in need!  You can purchase this kit on my website http://jennyr.myctmh.com or you can contact me specifically by email jenniferropp@yahoo.com. If you look at my last post, you can see just how cute the You and Me kit is!  I will also be hosting a workshop in July for anyone who purchases the kit this month, so you can use my inks and I will also help you with the cutting and putting the kit together!

Just thought I'd share my recent Easter Layout and a couple of cards I made with last month's Stamp of the Month, Chairs to You!  I know Easter was a few months ago, but, I'm a bit behind right now!  Enjoy!

Hey Everyone! May is National Scrapbook Month! To Celebrate Close to My Heart came up with an adorable kit to share with you! It is available only until the end of May for the awesome price of $34.95 or you can get it for just $15 with a purchase of $50. That's less than half of the regular price! I am adding this video of it to my blog so you can see just how cute it is!  Enjoy! and Happy Scrapping!

If you would like to order this kit or any of Close to My Heart's great products, you can do that on my website
http://jennyr.myctmh.com

Happy Spring!  Sorry it's been a while since my last post.  I will try to be better about posting!  I thought I would share an  Easter layout and some fun cards with you and hopefully you can get inspired to make your own!!  I made these with our Caboodle paper pack that, unfortunately has been retired.  This year I am planning on using our Mayberry Level 2 paper pack for my Easter layout!  When I get it done, I'll share it with you!


  
 

These cards below are made with Caboodle and our "A Little Everything" stamp sets

I also wanted to share with you Close to My Heart's special stamp set called "A Hope for Japan". It is only $5 and all proceeds go to supporting the relief efforts in Japan.  You can only get it until the end of April, so you'll have to jump on it fast!

  

Also in April you can get FREE bling with a purchase of 10 Studio J layouts.



Also, you can get a FREE Level 1 kit with a $100 purchase on my CTMH website!  You will also receive the April Stamp of the Month for FREE!  My website is http://jennyr.myctmh.com





I know it's late notice, but there is still time to take advantage of these GREAT offers!!  I hope you are all enjoying your Spring!

Happy New Year!

We have some FABULOUS new products at Close to My Heart in the brand new Idea Book, which becomes active on February 1st!  One of my favorites is the new spray pen!  So I put this video on here from CTMH corporate so you can see just how awesome it is!!  I can't wait to use mine!!

Here is a layout I did with Jingle. I used CTMH's Color Ready Alphabet in Oxford for the word "Christmas" and I colored it with Juniper ink using a sponge dauber.  The brads I used were various brands.  For the word  "Joy" I used our Dimensional Elements Monogram letters and the ornament from the Holiday Trinkets stamp set.  The trees are from the stamp set Evergreen and the Snowman is from Snow Friends.  I hope these pages inspire you to do your own Christmas layouts!

Four Fabulous Fall Cards!

This first card was made with the Twitterpated Level 2 paper pack.  The striped paper is pleated. The stamp set I used for the frame and writing is called True Friends and it was January's Stamp of the Month, so I'm sorry to say, you can't get it at the moment.  But you never know, it may pop up in the new Idea Book next year!  The flowers are from a stamp set that was part of one of our Constant Campaigns last year.  I know, I know, it's not fair to show you stamps you can't get, but I just love this card and there are other stamp sets you could use to get the same look, just ask me and I will guide you to some that could work!

 This card was designed by Jeanette Lynton!  I liked it so much, I made it too!  I made it with White Daisy Cardstock (CS), Twitterpated paper, and the Many Thanks stamp set.  I used Autumn Terracotta and Chocolate ink.

 I love the little owl on this card so much!  This card was made with the You're a Hoot stamp set. I used Autumn Terracotta CS and distressed it with our edge distresser and Autumn Terracotta ink.  I then used Barn Red CS and stamped the background with the leaf from the Spellbound stamp set.  The Desert Sand CS was stamped in the same ink color with the Intrinsic Backgrounds stamp set.  The owl is on Colonial White CS and I used orange rhinestones for the eyes.  I used ribbon from our Chocolate collection to tie it all together!

 This card was made with our retired textured Card Stock in New England Ivy and Pansy Purple with a bit of Sunflower thrown in!  The flower and word are from our Treasure Life stamp set.  They are both stamped in Pansy Purple ink.  The bow on the flower is made with our twill ribbon.  

    

 

Sorry it's been so long since I posted last.  October is always a very crazy, busy month for me!  We have A LOT of Birthdays and plenty of activities going on to keep us going.  Also, last Wednesday the3rd, I came down with a horrible case of Strep throat, a Sinus infection and an ear infection which landed me in the hospital for a few days.  I'm home now and each day gets a little better, but it's been a rough healing process.  In fact I will be canceling my Christmas Workshop on Saturday the 13th and hopefully rescheduling it.  I will keep you posted.
I wanted to post my Halloween layouts from last year that I did with paper from Silhouette, using a sponge to give it a spooky green color.  I then used the stripes from Silhouette and the Smokey Plum from Enchanted.  I also used Autumn Terracotta CS, Black CS, and Smokey Plum CS. I used the Spooky Smiles stamp set and the October stamp set that is now retired :( I also used Spellbound and Creepy Cobwebs. It was a really fun page to make!  I really had to think "outside the box" on this one because I had already used Enchanted a couple of years in a row and I wanted a different look!  I hope this inspires you to also "think outside the box"!  Enjoy your day!

You may have noticed something different about this card.  It's CLEAR!!  Close to My Heart now sells Clear Cards!  They are SO much FUN!!  To make this card, I cut 2 frames out on my Cricut with our black CS.  They are actually on the blackout setting so there is no oval hole.  To make it look like a frame I cut an oval out with my Cricut out of Bamboo CS.  I then stamped the image, which is last month's Stamp of the Month, Thriller, in Staz On ink in black.  I distressed the edges of the oval with the black Staz On.  I glued the oval onto one of my "frames" and used Liquid Glass (which is a great adhesive when you need something to dry clear) to attach it.  Then I attached my other "frame" on the back side of my first "frame" on the other side of the card front to make it look neat.  I then distressed the edges of the card front with the black Staz On ink because it is made to go on slick surfaces, it also gives you a truer black image.  I used Olive CS for the inside and randomly stamped it with the crown and the flourish from "Thriller".  I distressed the edges in black and adhered it to the inside of the card with Liquid Glass.  I then cut another oval the same size as the first, in Bamboo, and one more oval a little bigger in black. I stamped "Scary Halloween to You" in black and distressed the edges of the Bamboo CS, then attached it to the black oval and adhered it to the card, directly behind the frame, so you can't see it from the front!  So much fun!!  I hope this all makes sense!  If it doesn't, please feel free to let me know and ask questions!  Enjoy!

Here is a Fun Halloween Scrapbook layout to inspire you!  I used the stars paper from the "Game On" paper pack, black CS and Autumn Terracotta CS.  The stamp sets are "October" (which is no longer available, but we do have another stamp set that would work, called "In the Month of October", "Spooky Smiles" and "Creepy Cobwebs".  The alphabet is the "Friendship" alphabet.  I also used our "Dimensional Elements Monogram H" for the H and covered it in the stars paper.  I embossed the spiderwebs and spiders onto the page.  I did emboss the spiderwebs right on the pictures!  Just be really careful when you do this because the pictures can get too hot and be ruined.  Happy Haunting everyone!!

Hey Everyone!  I wanted to let you know that I will be at this Boutique on Saturday October 16th!  I will have displays to look at, the Fall and Winter Idea book, the Stamp of the Month artwork and more!  I will also be giving away prizes!  So please, come on over and check out the Fun Fall Boutique!!

Hey Everyone!  I just thought I'd post a fun Halloween card to get you all in the mood for Halloween!  As most of you know, Halloween is my favorite holiday, after Christmas that is!  So I am WAY excited that it is now October and time to start Celebrating!!  This card is made with September's Stamp of the Month, but couldn't help but share it, because I had so much fun making it!  I hope you all Enjoy!!

 

This card is 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".  To make the card above, I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder with Autumn Terracotta CS, then dragged my black Staz On ink over it to make the swirls pop.  The frame is cut with my Cricut.  I embossed the skull image on White Daisy CS, made a mask by stamping the image on a post it note and cutting just the skull out, then stuck it over the skull I embossed.  Then I sponged Olive ink all around the skull, remove the post it mask and your skull stays White! I attached the frame over the White Daisy CS that is now Olive with the skull image.  I embossed the crown on another piece of White Daisy CS and sponged it with Smokey Plum, cut around it, then attached it over the frame so it is popping out of the picture.  I embossed the wording on Smokey Plum CS and distressed the edges in black ink, then added black brads to the four corners and attached it to the Autumn Terracotta CS.  I inked the edges of the Autumn Terracotta CS with black ink. I then attached the Autumn Terracotta CS to black CS for a nice frame around the edges and I distressed the edges with my edge distresser.  Then add it to the card front. To top it all off I added some Bling to the image with our new pink and purple Sparkles!  I LOVE Bling!!

Announcing my 2010 Christmas Card Workshop!

Due to health issues, this workshop has been re-scheduled for December 4th from 1-4pm.  Sorry for any inconvenience.

If you live in the Salt Lake City area, I'd love for you to join us for this great workshop! (And if you can't make it, all the pieces needed to make them yourself are available at my online store.  Contact me if you need a list of the products used.)

Click on the flyer to view full size.

10/03/10 This is the second page that I never posted back in February!  Just thought you'd like to see it!

Wow! Time really does fly! Those holidays hit and it's just so crazy busy you're lucky you can remember to show up for everything! I really did enjoy our holidays this year! I am so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. We have had some sadness mixed in there, with the passing of my sweet Aunt Joyce, our friends Eric and Haily Warrens baby, and my friend Katharine. We've gone to 3 funerals in 4 months. So, I am ready for some happiness in my life now! We are headed for St. George next weekend to hopefully get some much needed rest and relaxation! Also, we need to spend some time with my grandparents who are struggling with their health.

In other news, and happier news, I got a Cricut for Christmas!!! I am SO excited! I've been wanting one for 2 years!! Adrian finally got a good deal and caved in! It is so much fun to use! I just love it! I plan to use it often! I did manage to take a picture of a layout I did last month so I posted it here for you to see!

Here is me with my Mom at Disneyworld! We had to make a stop there Of Course!
Here we are in the Convention Center

Here is a view of the family pool, and part of the hotel

Here is some of the GREAT art samples I got to see

while at Convention!

Here is some more fun art!

Well, it's another New Year, so I thought I'd try to get better at this blog thing again! We had a very nice Christmas this year with my side of the family, and since Adrian's family was here visiting we got to spend time with them too! I have lots of cute pictures that I'm planning on posting soon! I was very lucky to have a great year last year and I'm hoping for more of the same this year! I did go to that convention I was talking about in my last post so I thought I'd post some of the pictures from it here! It was REALLY fun and I learned a lot of new techniques to use in my scrapbooking!

Happy Summer Everyone! I know I am horrible at keeping this blog up! Sorry about that! I will try to be better as usual! lol! We just celebrated the 24th of July (which is Pioneer Day here in Utah) by going up to the park behind my parents house and watching the most awesome fireworks show around!! We love it because we can just walk from my parents backyard so there is not a parking issue! Also, the mountains are so close there that the fireworks sound REALLY loud! It is a very fun family tradition! I told my parents they can never sell that house so we can always enjoy this tradition! LOL!!

So, we FINALLY moved into our brand new Town House!!! It is so cute and so roomy! It was WAY too much work, but it was SO worth it!! I am still unpacking boxes like crazy and Adrian has set up his office in the basement and I hardly ever see him! He has a lot of projects going on right now so it is so nice for him to have a space where he can spread out! It's nice for me, because it's not all in the living room! :) I'll have to post some pics when I get it decorated the way I want it!

In scrappy news, I'm REALLY EXCITED!!!! Because Close to My Heart's Convention is next week!! My Mom and I are flying to Orlando to attend!!! I will get to see all the great new products they will be coming out with for the new Fall/Winter book! I will also get a copy of that book!! There are tons of free give aways and the make and take should be AWESOME!! There are also some really informative business classes. Then there is Extravaganza where you get to go to several 30 minute mini classes!! In these classes you get TONS of ideas about how to use all the amazing CTMH products we sell, including the new ones which is WAY exciting!! We will be staying in an amazing, gorgeous resort to boot!! Since we'll be in Orlando, we will be taking advantage of my FREE Disney pass!!  So, after convention, my Mom and I will be staying with my Uncle Bob (he lives 30 min from Disney World) and we'll be going to Disney World for a few days!!! It should be WAY fun!!! I am REALLY looking forward to it!! I will have to post some pictures of all the fun artwork I get to make and of the fun things we'll be doing!

I hope everyone else is enjoying their Summer as much as I am!!

Hey Everyone! My friend Jen Ashton is trying to win a chance to sing live on stage with Rascal Flatts!!! She entered the contest late, and she really needs votes. So, I am asking everyone I know to PLEASE listen to her sing and VOTE for Jen! She is incredibly talented and she really deserves this chance! Below is a link that will take you to her page where you can vote! Thanks Everyone for your support!! I REALLY appreciate it!
Love,
Jen

Hi Everyone! Adrian informed me that nobody would look at my blog anymore if I only post to it once a year!!! LOL! So, since I told you in my last blog that I was going to make my Christmas pages, I thought I would share them with you! I am really proud of my little "photo pocket" that I made on the second page down. I used the file folder Coluzzle template to make the little folder. Then I cropped six photos that I couldn't fit on my pages, but still wanted in my album, and adhered them to red cardstock. I made the tabs out of punched circles that I adhered to the back of the cardstock. I traced the folder on the outside of the page protector and then cut a square in my page protector following the outline. I then put the page in the page protector and slipped the photos in the folder so I could pull them out whenever I want to! It was a really fun way to scrapbook many photos at a time!

We had a really nice holiday season spent with loved ones in Idaho. We are very happy that it is Spring now and we have a few life changing events happening right now! First Adrian quit his job at Feature Films For Families! After 12 years he finally got an offer he couldn't refuse! He took a job at Disney!!! He will be working for Disney Interactive on their video games as a Senior Artist! We are so very happy about it!!! This has been a life long dream of Adrian's and I am really proud of him!

Second, we are building a house!!! We were starting to think we would be living in apartments the rest of our lives!!! It is a rambler townhouse. It has 2 bedrooms on the main level and laundry on the main level, and 2 bedrooms, an office, a family room, and bathroom in the basement! It is perfect for us, since there are just the two of us, and we will be a part of a homeowner's association so they will take care of the lawn and snow and all the outside stuff! We will also have access to a pool and hot tub which is great for me!!! We couldn't be happier right now! We will be moving the first part of May! I will have my own scrapbook room, so watch out world!!! LOL! It will be so nice to have a place where our family can visit and we can have family and friends over once in a while!

I have a Valentine layout and cards and an Easter layout and Spring cards done, so I will try and post them next! I know I always say I will try and be better, but hopefully I will!!!

Thanks to all who actually read this blog!
Love,
Jen

O.K. So I didn't keep up with this blog like I thought I would! I discovered Myspace and I've been spending all my time there! LOL!! I thought I might make up for some lost time now! I have a cute Thanksgiving layout and some fun Christmas cards to post, so I hope you enjoy them! I used the same stamp set for these three cards! I used the snowflakes to make the wreath, and to make the peppermints! I put a window charm over the big peppermint and wrapped it in cellophane to make it look real. For the words on the peppermint card I used another set and stamped it in cranberry then used a write 'n' rub pen to trace the words. When it dried I rubbed glitter over the words to make them sparkle! For the berries on the wreath I used our sparkles, they're self adhesive so that really helps! I'm hoping to keep up a little bit better with my blog now! Hopefully I will!

The last couple of weeks have been spent decorating my apartment and my Mom's house! My Mom had shoulder surgery Nov 2nd and is still having a lot of pain and not much movement in her shoulder. So, since I haven't been working because of my back, I went over to help her. I slept over night for 2 nights! It took a long time to get done with both of us having handicaps! We joke that together we make a whole person since she can do things I can't and I can do things she can't! Anyway, it was REALLY fun and I finally got both of our homes done! Now I'm going to work on making a 2 page Christmas layout and making more Christmas cards so I can send them out! It is a BUSY time of year! I hope everyone will enjoy this holiday season!