Free "Picture My Life" Scrapbooking Class on Friday 7/18!

If you've been following trends in the scrapbooking world you may have heard of a thing called "Pocket Page" Scrapbooking that has become very popular

(also sometimes referred to as "Project Life").

Close to my Heart has taken this trend even "one step better"

with the introduction of our beautiful new...

"Picture My Life" kits!

You're invited to my first ever

FREE Picture My Life "Try Me" Class!

Friday, July 18th (6pm-8pm)

Class attendees will each go home with a FREE

12x12 page sample that we will create during the class.

Simply slip your photos and journaling cards in to

the pockets...no cropping or adhesive required!!

Try this FAST and EASY new way of preserving

your memories with me and discover how to make

your pages more meaningful, more affordable,

and DONE in less than half the time

traditional scrapbooking can take!

Shown here (below) is just a sampling of some of the cards

included in the "Surf's Up" PML kit...

as well as the SIX pages that I completed

this afternoon with just ONE hour of my time!!

 Page 1 - pre-printed 12x12 cover-page (just added a photo

and a button my daughter was given to wear that day!)

 Page 2 - back side of the cover-page (just added photos!)

Page 3 - took a little extra time to journal my memories

(...but so worth it!)

 Page 3 again - with the 4x6 flip flap opened

(where I "snuck in" the ticket stub for parking that I saved)

 Page 4 (notice I cropped the middle 4x6 photo in half,

just as I did on page 3 also)

 Page 5 (lots of 4x6 photos...a little journaling)

Page 6 (the last page for this event)

As you can see, I did use just a little adhesive to add photos on the cover pages 

(1 & 2), corner rounded my photos, and cropped a few of the pictures to make them fit just where I wanted them...but those things are optional, and because this method uses so little adhesive and cropping, you SAVE lots of time and money!

Also, did you notice how versatile this kit is?!

Not only would it work great for summer/vacation/beach/travel

photos, I used it to scrapbook photos I took of

my soon-to-be college-bound daughter during the month of April...

a day-long family trip we took in the Spring!

I hope you will join us for my FREE class on 7/18,

(Please RSVP to reserve your spot now!)

and if you can't join us this time, then please feel free to

contact me to set up your own one-on-one demonstration

or schedule a free class for you and a few friends!

Project 365 layouts! (with the Surf's Up kit)

So I have been planning to share my "completed" Project 365 layouts here on my blog for weeks. Life has been so busy though, that I'm not quite finished with writing about each photo yet. I finally decided that it would be better to just post what IS done so far, rather than not share them for a while longer. Some of my journaling is hand-written and some is printed from my computer so you can see that either option (or both!) works...it really just depends on how much you want to say
...these are all of the best photos I took during the month of June 2013.

I LOVE how these pages give the reader just a glimpse at what was going on in my life and the daily lives of my family! I think that my kids are really going to cherish these pages and the things I wrote about each of them someday. No more need to keep a journal now...this will be how I continue to preserve my family's history
...in our own storybook with photos! :)

 Pages 1 and 2

 Page 1 (with the flip flap open!) - still need to add one photo up there :)

 Pages 3 and 4 (notice how I printed out the journaling from my computer for page 4)
 

 Pages 5 and 6 (still have some journaling to do on page 6)
 

Pages 6 and 7 (have a tad more journaling to add here also)

If you are interested in learning how to preserve 
your story this way, then you should
plan to attend my next 365 scrapbooking class!! 

Make sure you start taking at least one photo every day (making a few notes about each photo as you take them is recommended) and then mark your calendar for class on Saturday, September 14th (6pm-10pm)!

You won't need to bring photos with you as we will assemble the pages in about two hours (so you can join us at any time between 6 and 10 that works for you) and then you will slip your September photos and journaling cards into the pockets later at home as soon as you have them printed...so easy! The class kit includes ALL of the materials you'll need (including pre-cut papers!) for $25 if you are attending in person or $30 for mail-order customers.*

*If you don't live locally, and want to get a kit mailed to you so you can join us from your own home, then be sure to visit my blog again on Sept. 1st so you can order the next kit online with your debit/credit card (using the PayPal button/link I will post here). Online orders for the September kit will be due by Sept. 5th
and then I plan to mail them out on Sept. 10th.

...and of course, I will be posting photos of the September page designs
featuring the "Laughing Lola" kit late next week!

Scrapbooking - the 10 Things I Love about You!

Let me help you make more progress and complete more of your scrapbooking this year...one page...and one layout at a time! We will meet at 6:30pm and 7:30pm every month on either the 3rd, 4th, or 5th weekend. Join us on Friday night or Saturday night or even both nights if you want/need extra time to create with us! At 6:30pm we will create one 12x12 layout with traditional materials (paper, stamps, and embellishments!) for $10 per layout. Then, at 7:30pm we will create another layout (faster, simpler, and easier!) with Studio J online at no additional charge! Yes, you read that correctly, the Studio J class is FREE! You can join us for both segments of class time, or just come for either the first or second hour, whichever interests you most!

Here are photos of the $10 traditional layout we will create (you will need to choose and let me know when you RSVP to me, which layout...either the pink one OR the blue one...you want to make):

(remember, you can click on any and all of my images to see them larger!)

I will have all of the papers for the layouts pre-cut and ready for you to stamp, assemble, and embellish! All you will need to bring is your adhesive, photos, and favorite basic tools you like to use. Please PLAN AHEAD NOW by finding the 4 photos of the person you want to feature on your pages. You will need two photos that are 4"x6" tall and one photo that is 4"x6" wide, plus one more photo that you can crop into a 4"x4" circle. If you want to be extra prepared you can even start writing down your list of "10 things" you love about them now, then bring it to class with you, so you can completely finish your layout faster!

For those joining us for the Studio J class at 7:30pm, bringing your own laptop computer is recommended, but not required. I do have a few extra computers available for your use when you reserve one with me (first come, first serve)! It is however, very important that you remember to bring your digital photos to use (files that you have saved on a memory card, flash drive, or dvd) to create the Studio J pages! Here is what the Studio J layout for our January Studio J class will look like:

Kit: Sonoma
Pattern:  Cherish: Abstract™
Photos: 2 vertical, 1 horizontal,1 circle
Colors: Smokey Plum, Cocoa, Olive, Bamboo
Techniques we will learn:
• Using the stitching guide to frame photos
• Clustering embellishments and My Stickease® across both pages

Here's another example of this same layout made using different photos:

I hope you can join us for these easy, fun, informative, and inspiring classes! Contact me to reserve your spot early (as space is limited to just 9 guests)!!

Layouts 3 and 4 - using the Sweetheart WOTG kit!

Sweetheart Workshop-on-the-Go layout - Left side (below)

Sweetheart Workshop-on-the-Go layout - Right side (below)

Sweetheart Workshop-on-the-Go layout - pull-out tag with journaling (below)

Sweetheart Workshop-on-the-Go layout - full view (below)

I just finished up layouts #3 and #4 this past week, which means that I met my goal of a layout every week this month already and the month's barely even half over (yeaay for me)!! I know that this looks like just one scrapbook layout (and it is), BUT I also created a duplicate copy of this layout this week because I am giving one of them to my downline consultant team member Starr Nelson (who is the "Rising Starr") featured on my pages! Three years ago Starr received the very prestigious annual "Rising Star" award at our corporate-sponsored Leadership Conference and I was so thrilled to be able to be there to celebrate it with her and Close to my Heart. What an amazing event it was and I am so grateful for the photos and memories I have from that week. I promised Starr then that I would make her a layout of her big achievement, and even though it took me quite a while (blush), I finally have it done and ready to give to her (if you are reading this Starr, then "Surprise!!" It's about time right?! lol. I will give you your layout next week at our upcoming team meeting or get it mailed to you if you aren't able to attend!!) This layout was created using the new Sweetheart Workshop-on-the-Go kit that is featured on page 41 of the NEW Spring/Summer Idea Book! If you haven't received the beautiful new idea book from me yet, then you'll want to attend one of my upcoming events or contact me soon to get your very own free copy from me!