Tuesday, December 4, 2018

The "Oh What Fun" Scrapbooking Workshop Kit!

A PINK Christmas?!!! Yes, please!!
How much do we love this month’s featured 
scrapbooking kit from Close to my Heart?! ❤️
I can’t wait to add my photos to these vibrantly FUN pages!
December is the last month to order any/all of our 
five holiday-themed scrapbooking kits...
available only while supplies last! Contact me for help
purchasing and creating your own beautiful pages anytime...
I’m now accepting new members to my monthly scrapbooking club...
we’ll be meeting again every 2nd Saturday starting in January 2019.
#ctmh #ctmhscrapbooking #ctmhohwhatfun #stampwithjencreativefriends






Saturday, December 1, 2018

Candy Cane Alphabet Blog Hop (December SOTM!)

Happy December 1st!
I was supposed to be participating 
in this Blog Hop tonight, BUT due to 
unexpected technical difficulties
my post didn't go live at 6pm
when it was supposed to and I was
(understandably) skipped.


I didn't want to miss out on all the fun
though, so I'm sharing my artwork 
using this stamp set here anyway,
AND...as a bonus, you can
use the link below to check out
the Blog Hop next and be inspired by 
all of the beautiful artwork created by
many of my CTMH consultant friends!

Today I'm sharing a standard-size card I created
featuring the Hello Pumpkin papers! Yes...
those candy cane stripes can work to create so
much more than just Christmas-themed projects!


AND...How much do we LOVE that 
Sugarplum Glitter Paper?!!

Now, please use THIS LINK to
join in on the December Stamp of the
Month Blog Hop and enjoy more creations
with this oh-so-versatile stamp set! 

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Christmas Cards to Flip for!! :)

These are some of the Christmas
cards we made at our Triple Treat
Workshop on 11/10/18!

If you had to miss out on that event
(or maybe you were there, but were
scrapbooking instead of making cards),
I'm still offering 3 more chances
this month for you to come make
these beautiful cards with me!

* Friday 11/23 (6pm-10pm) *
* Saturday 11/24 (9am-3pm) *
11/24 is also a "potluck crop" day,
so scrapbookers will join us and
everyone should bring a potluck
"brunch" dish to share!
* Friday 11/30 (6pm-10pm) *

I plan to have some additional (new)
card designs to offer also, for those
who may have already created
these and want a variety of more!

Notice how (on the first three cards shown)
the layout of the cards are exactly the same,
the only difference is the patterned paper
that is featured. To achieve the "different looks,"
all I did was simply FLIP OVER the patterned paper!
Our papers are all two-sided, with a different pattern
featured on each side, so the choice is yours!
This is just one of the things I LOVE
about our oh-so-versatile patterned papers!

Please contact me now if you want to join us
for any of our next Christmas card-making dates!
(just $2.00 per card, payable at the class).







Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Scrapbooking with Boutique!

I'm so proud of these scrapbook pages. The BOUTIQUE kit from Close to my Heart was the perfect fit for my daughter and new son-in-law’s engagement photos. I just LOVE the way these turned out! 😍 You can create similar or uniquely-your-own beautiful pages with me this weekend during my monthly crop and potluck, this Saturday 10/20 (9am-3pm).
I have just one more of these kits left in my inventory right now (but I can easily order more of them if it sells before you can snatch it up from me). I will also have Halloween and Fall-themed kits available to create with this weekend too! I’d love to show you how! ❤️ #ctmh #ctmhboutique #scrapbooking #scrapbookingworkshopkits #stampwithjencreativefriends #letmeshowyouhow #memorykeepingmatters






Thursday, October 11, 2018

Reserve your spot for our November 10th Triple Treat Workshop now!


TRIPLE TREAT Creative Workshop!
(A Close to my Heart multi-consultant
scrapbooking and card-making event
held three times a year!!!)

...featuring CHRISTMAS projects!!

The event will include lunch (Italian buffet this time
including salads, pizza, and lasagne), snacks, bottled water,
iced tea, and/or coffee. Materials will be pre-cut and sorted
by your consultant so they will be ready to stamp, color, and
assemble. Plus, enjoy an ice-breaker game, photo ops, prize
giveaways, current and retired CTMH products for sale,
and plenty of table space to spread your supplies out on
while you create amongst friends!

Workshop fee is $55 per guest for card-makers
or those who want to create the
"Oh What Fun" scrapbooking pages
(featuring shades of pink & bold colors)
OR
Workshop fee is $60 per guest for those who want
to create the "Tis The Season" scrapbooking pages
(featuring shades of traditional red, green, and black).

Fees need to be PRE-PAID (to your consultant)
NO LATER THAN NOV. 2nd!

Payments can be sent online through PayPal.com
using the "friends and family" option to:
stampwithjen@ymail.com.
(or contact Jen Rubio to arrange your payment
by cash, check, or debit/credit card).

Scrapbooking kits will include the pre-cut papers,
stickers, die cuts, and embellishments needed to
make (4) 12x12 layouts...8 pages total.

Card-makers will be creating (20) hand-stamped
greeting cards (2 each of 10 designs), with the option
to make additional cards of their choice for $2 each
(additional cards can be paid for at the event).
Images of the card designs coming soon!





Thursday, September 13, 2018

Oh What Fun - Extravaganza Presentation and Artwork!


First, I'd like to say THANK YOU to Close to my Heart
for the amazing opportunity I was given to present my
artwork on stage this Summer at the annual Convention
for CTMH consultants! It meant so much to me to be invited
and it an was absolute honor and thrilling experience.

I first had to sign a confidentiality agreement with CTMH, because I would be receiving so many brand-new products more than a month prior to Convention, and it was very important that I keep secret all of the new products I would be getting, so that the first big "reveals" could happen on stage, only at Convention.

My big box of "top secret" Close to my Heart products arrived on Wednesday, May 23rd. You can see here how very happy and excited I was on this day...and this was
BEFORE I had any clue what might be inside or how generous CTMH would be in 
giving me so much fun stuff to play with!


I can now reveal what I received in that box...
it included the most colorful and FUN
Christmas-themed papers, ink pads, stamp
sets, thin cuts, and embellishments ever!

I was instantly grateful that I would get to 
design CHRISTMAS artwork! I love Christmas!!
However, as I began to make cards and scrapbook pages,
I struggled with the fact that pink isn't really one of my
favorite colors to work with, and I began to find it 
a little bit challenging to use for Christmas.
It took a few tries, but eventually, I began to get over that
silly little voice in my head that said, "You can't do pink
with Christmas!" Once I opened my mind to the possibilities
and began thinking, "Why not?" I really began to see the
true beauty of these products and my creativity just flowed.

I spent the next few weeks creating with all of the
NEW products I had received, and then...
the big day (Friday, June 29th) arrived!

Here are a few of the photos I took that day, as well as,
all of my artwork made with the new OH WHAT FUN
paper collection (only from Close to my Heart!)
Here is your first peek at just one of the five
NEW paper collections that are now available
for customers to purchase since 
September 1st! Enjoy!!

 My top-secret artwork is all packed in my trunk and I'm ready to go present it!

Here is the main stage where I delivered my Extravaganza Artwork Presentation!

Standard-size cards made with my favorite, the NEW Ugly Sweater stamp set (C1729).
Ink pad colors used include NEW Clover, NEW Mint, Pixie, Raspberry, and Sweet Leaf.

 Standard-size cards made with our NEW watercolor pencils (Z4242), NEW Watercolor paper pad (Z4243), and water brush splatters. Stamp sets include NEW Feliz Navidad (B1620), NEW Making Spirits Bright (B1627), and the NEW Christmas Countdown (D1799) for the small tree. Ink pad colors used include NEW Mint, Lagoon, and Sweet Leaf.

Standard-size cards made with the NEW Mistletoe Wishes stamp set (G1168). Ink pad
colors used include NEW Clover, Pixie, Raspberry, and Archival Black.

Layout #1 featuring NEW Clover and NEW Mint cardstocks
with the OH WHAT FUN paper packet (X7238B) and complements (X7238C).

Layout #2 with the OH WHAT FUN paper packet (X7238B) and complements (X7238C).

Layout #3 with the OH WHAT FUN paper packet (X7238B).
Used only the shades of pink patterned papers (Pixie and Raspberry)
along with SUGARPLUM glitter paper (the NEW color of the year)!

Six standard-size cards created with the PML cards from the OH WHAT FUN 
paper packet (X7238B), the coordinating FELT SHAPES (Z4228),
and the Christmas Countdown stamp set (D1799).

Single 12x12 page made with the OH WHAT FUN paper packet (X7238B)
and coordinating complements (X7238C).

 Three standard-size cards featuring some of our NEW thin cuts...
Season's Greetings (Z4308), Merry Christmas (Z4306) and Falala (Z4307)
with SUGARPLUM glitter paper (Z4188).

 Single 12x12 page made with the Raspberry Ombre patterned paper as
the base page, plus the You Have My Heart stamp set (D1796).

 Floral pattern is stamped on the watercolor paper heart using
Lagoon ink, colored in with our NEW Watercolor Pencils (Z4242),
and then brushed lightly with water from the small round waterbrush.

 Two standard-size cards featuring the You Have My Heart stamp set (D1796).
This paper packet also works fantastically to create Non-Christmas-themed artwork!

 This standard-size card shows off our NEW Ranger RED TINSEL Embossing Powder (Z4251).

 I used OH WHAT FUN papers and embellishments to dress up a 
small LED table lamp that I purchased from Wal-mart for less than $5.

The branches were made by cutting half-way into 3" x 12" strips of 
patterned paper with fringe scissors. I especially LOVE that cute little felt Santa!

 Last of all, my favorite...the 12x12 framed home decor piece I created using
the Rainbow Striped patterned paper and NEW Chipboard Monogram Numbers!
Floral pieces cut using the Flower Market Cricut cartridge/collection.

Finally, here I am at the Consultant Creativity Showcase (above) displaying all of 
my artwork that same evening after the on-stage presentation.

THANK YOU again Close to my Heart for the amazing privilege of presenting my creations
on stage alongside these other 0h-s0-talented consultant artists that inspire me!

(Left to Right): 
Anna Jarnagin (http://annajarnagin.com/)
and (me!) Jen Rubio (http://jenrubio.blogspot.com/)

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

For the Love of Crafting Blog Hop (August SOTM!)

THANK YOU for stopping by to enjoy our
August Stamp of the Month Blog Hop
featuring this month's SOTM:
For the Love of Crafting S1808


If you've just arrived here from
my friend KATY's BLOG
then you are on the correct path.
If you get lost along the way, you can find
a complete list of all of the participating
consultant blogs here on MELINDA's BLOG.

Today I'm sharing a standard-size card I created
using our beautifully vibrant watercolor paints!
(on cold press watercolor paper 140lb. 300gsm).

If you want to attempt to create a similar card,
you will want to make sure the watercolor paint
and paper is completely dry before you stamp on
it with archival black ink, as I have done here.
I also stamped the sentiment stamp with archival
black ink on a smaller scrap of the same watercolor
paper and then cut it out (cut my heart just inside 
the edge of all of the little black dots). Then I added
the cut-out heart element on to the card using 
3d foam mounting tape to give it some dimension.



The trick to achieving this look is to use lots of water,
and create puddles of color on your paper by tapping,
dabbing, and swirling the color on with your water brush
(do not swipe, smear, rub, or blend it in too much).
Let the puddles of color sit on top of your paper and absorb
slowly (the less you brush it the better). While it is drying,
you can also use a heat embossing tool (or blow air on it
using a straw) to spread the puddles of color from the 
inside to the outermost edges of your paper like I did 
here. When it was mostly dry, I then flicked splatters 
of color along the outside edges using a waterbrush
that I loaded with lots of water and color.

I am working on creating my first quick 
video tutorial, so you can see exactly how to do it!
I will be sharing it on Facebook later next week, 
so if you'd like to see that, please go visit and 
"LIKE" and follow my Facebook business page now!
(Jen Rubio - Close to my Heart Consultant)

Since I only used one of the images in this stamp set
this time, here's a look at ALL of the fun images included:

Now you can continue on with the blog hop
and be inspired by more creativity using this
set of stamps by visiting KIMBERLY's BLOG next!

Monday, July 30, 2018

August 25th Triple Treat Workshop (Reserve Your Spot Now!)

TRIPLE TREAT Creative Workshop!
(A Close to my Heart multi-consultant scrapbooking
and card-making event held three times a year!!)

Saturday, August 25th, 2018
(10am to 4pm) @ the Holiday Inn Express
 (2700 Lenwood Road, Barstow, CA 92311)

...featuring the "DOCUMENTED" paper collection!
 (shown here)

Workshop fee is $50 per guest, PRE-PAID BY 8/5!
to make your choice of either: (4) 12x12 layouts…8 pages total
*OR* (20) hand-stamped greeting cards (2 each of 10 designs)

The event will include lunch (catered by Panda Express), 
snacks, bottled water, iced tea, and/or coffee.
Materials will be pre-cut and sorted by your consultant
 so they are ready for you to stamp, color, and assemble.
Plus, enjoy an ice-breaker game, photo ops, prize giveaways,
current and retired CTMH products for sale, and plenty of
table space to spread your supplies out on while you 
create amongst friends!