Important Close to My Heart Product Update!

Hi crafty friends!  I have some important news from Close to My Heart.

 First of all I have the unhappy task of letting you know that the online scrapbooking program, Studio J, is going to be retiring at the end of April.  This makes me sad for many reasons, but it makes sense from a business standpoint.  Less than 1% of sales is associated with Studio J, so spending more on updates just doesn't make any sense.  If you have any projects pending, please plan accordingly as it will no longer be available after April.

The next info is exciting and disappointing all at once.  We have completely sold out of the dated planner pages and the Springtime Wishes Thin Cuts (the set with flower images!)  These are new products which makes it a bit difficult to predict shelf life, and there is no historical data to suggest how much inventory we will be able to support.  The good news is that these products are a HIT so they will be coming out with new sets in the future!  :)  Now if you are thinking you might want to try the Thin Cuts (especially the Spring Critters) it would be best to pick them up SOON.

Spring Critters Thin Cuts

That's all I have for you today, but I will see you soon!  :)

Studio J Flash SALE!

Close to My Heart surprised us all with a FLASH sale on Studio J layouts!  Just $5 for PROCESSED 12 x 12 two page layouts!  These are not printed, they are processed, and SUPER high-quality.  Only through the end of July!  UPDATED:  Be sure to note that the sale ENDS JULY 31st at 5:00pm Mountain time!!!  :)  That is 6:00 pm for my CST friends...

Click HERE to set up your own FREE account on my website!  

Read more about this amazing sale over on the Make It From Your Heart Blog!  :)  New to Studio J and need help?  Visit my website to watch the tutorials HERE!

Limited Edition Layouts in Studio J!

Happy February! 

The freshly fallen snow on my patio has reminded me that this is the last month to use the limited edition Yuletide Carol Express Collection in Close to My Heart's awesome online digital scrapbooking software, Studio J!

I am so excited to see Close to My Heart offer this simple kit that you only need to drag and drop your pictures into...that's it!  The beautiful pages are already designed with one of my all time favorite papers.  Take a look at this...

Now is a great time to try it out if you haven't yet!  Just follow THIS LINK to set up your FREE Studio J account to get started.  You only purchase the layouts you want, and can work on your pages over the course of a week, so give it a look!

$5 Studio J Layouts in November!

So, I found out about the $5 layouts and had an INSTANT party in my brain, lol!  I KNEW in a flash that I would be creating my Christmas cards this year with the fantastic, free, photo scrapping software!

If you have never tried Studio J from Close to My Heart, you can set up your very own FREE account with no strings attached right HERE.

If you choose the NO LIMITS layout, you can create 4 - 4 x 8 inch photo cards on each page of the layout and still have room for two 4 inch square photos!  :)  Here is what I whipped up today with the Pear and Partridge Papers...

Wait a minute, I can hear what you are thinking...isn't Pear and Partridge RETIRED???  You bet it is...in paper form!  There are MANY of your favorite retired paper packets still available right there in Studio J for your scrapbooking pleasure!  This includes the Stickease and color coordinated embellishments like ribbon and buttons!  There are literally so many possibilities I lost count, lol!

I made my daughters graduation announcements in the spring with Studio J after learning about the photo card idea from my upline, Mandy Leahy.  There have been so many improvements to the system since they started it, so you really need to give it a try!

ALSO!  CHECK THIS OUT!

November marks the five-year anniversary of Studio J^®, and that means it’s your lucky month, with five amazing ways to win through Studio J and Close To My Heart social media!

First, throughout the month of November, all layouts purchased in Studio J are $5! That is a savings of over 25% off of retail—an unprecedented deal!

Your second chance to win big must come by sheer luck: every fifth order placed in Studio J during November receives a FREE surprise Close To My Heart accessory in its shipping box! The accessory has a retail value of $5 or more.

If luck doesn’t smile on you in that way, you might stumble upon it by finding a little extra something in your Studio J box. Five “golden tickets” will be sent out during the month of November with randomly selected Studio J print orders! This “golden ticket” is redeemable for one of Close To My Heart’s new D-ring albums* loaded with 10 Top Load Memory Protectors™.

For a fourth way to win, simply create new, gorgeous layouts in Studio J, select your favorites, and then post pictures of them on Close To My Heart’s Facebook page using the hashtag #ctmhlucky5. After November 30, five lucky winners will be selected from the entries based on their artistry and creativity and each of these winners will receive their own D-ring album loaded with 10 Top Load Memory Protectors!

And there is one last way to win: take your new Studio J artwork and post a picture of it on Instagram using the hashtag #ctmhlucky5. Just as it is with Facebook, after November 30, five lucky winners will be selected from the entries to receive their own D-ring album loaded with 10 Top Load Memory Protectors!

Graduation Announcements and So Much More in Studio J!

Hey everyone!  I have a pretty cool idea to share today, so I am glad you stopped in!

You might not know it, but Close to My Heart has an online digital scrapbooking program called Studio J.  You also might not know that it is completely free to try and set up an account.  This month all the two page layouts are just $5 each!  They are regularly $6.95, so now is a great time to try it out.  I don't have nearly the time to catch up on all my scrapbooks the traditional way, so I use Studio J to catch up in between.  You even get a JPG file of the layouts you purchase to use however you would like!

Last year at Christmas time my upline posted a fantastic idea to use Studio J for her Christmas Cards.  Well, I just finished designing my daughter's graduation announcements with it!  I didn't have to buy the usual, ordinary ones from the sale at school...I made them myself for one low price!

You can fit four journaling wells on a page in Studio J by sizing them at 4 x 8 inches.  I let Kaylee pick the papers to use, and she immediately settled on one of the current paper packs, Ivy Lane.  Did you know that you can use many of our retired paper packets in Studio J?  Yep!  Have a favorite paper that you miss?  Go try it in Studio J!  :)

I used the extra 4 x 4 spot on the page to create an invitation to her graduation party that I can just slip into the announcement envelope too!  :)  I just LOVE all the possibilities with this program!  Need invitations for anything?  Birth announcements?  Studio J is the answer!

So, with the sale, my announcements are only $0.63 each!  Even at regular price they are only $0.87 a piece!  That figure doesn't even include the invitations that are free!  :)

Shipping for Studio J is also fantastic.  You can have up to 50 two page layouts shipped for just $5.95!  Wow!

AND, remember, you can also SCRAPBOOK in Studio J!  ;)  Here is a layout I made with the retired La Belle Vie papers...

AND did you know you can print out ALL KINDS of sizes of pictures to fit in your layouts you make with the CTMH Workshops on the Go kits?  Check out this layout of pictures I sized for different layouts I am planning...

Alright, who wants to play in Studio J today?  Go set up your free account HERE on my website.  If you want to make your own photo cards or announcements instead of scrapbook layouts, you can see the directions on my upline, Mandy Leahy's Blog HERE.  Have fun!  :)

Be sure to join my Rewards Club Gathering to qualify to win FREE products this month in my Mystery Hostess giveaway!  :)

 

Studio J Tips and Tricks!

Hi everyone!  Ready to really take advantage of all Studio J has to offer?  This is a great little video that shows how to make your layouts really shine!  After you watch it, you can create your very own FREE Studio J account by clicking on the Studio J tab up above.  Enjoy!  :)

Editing Your Photos in Close to My Heart's Studio J

I promised to give you more information on our fantastic digital scrapbooking tool, so I'm back with another great tip.  Did you know you can edit your photos in Close to My Heart's free online digital scrapbooking software?  Yep!  You sure can!  Here is a short video to help you learn to use this fantastic tool!  You can even change your pictures to black and white!  :)

If you haven't tried Studio J yet, there is absolutely no commitment to start.  You can hop right on and play around for free anytime.  Click HERE to get started and set up your free account!  :)  Double-page layouts that you order are only $6.95 each AND you can get up to 50 in a box for just $5.95 shipping! 

Close to My Heart Studio J News!

Hi everyone!  I wanted to share some exciting news that is happening over at Studio J.

What's Studio J???  It is the most fantastic online digital scrapbooking in the industry!  There is nothing to download onto your computer, you simply create an account and use the program online.  Here is a little video that Close to My Heart made to introduce you to some basics in how to use Studio J for your digital scrapbooking.  Please note that there are no more memberships, so when they mention that there are some member only choices, that no longer applies.  All patterns and layouts are available to ALL users!  Also, the Studio J 5-packs no longer include the protectors so you can use whichever system you choose to store your pages.  :)

If you would like to try it out, there is no commitment required at all when you create an account.  Click on the Studio J tab up above to get started.

NOW, didn't I say that I had FANTASTICALLY exciting news???  Well, the amazing programmers at Close to My Heart have added new programming to the software that allows you to add and manipulate photo wells to any of the layouts now!  Here are the details from our corporate newsletter:

    "We have just launched an update to Studio J® which will give you more flexibility in creating your layouts. You can now resize, reposition, and rotate photo wells, and add as many new photo wells as you like. This gives you many more options for customizing the patterns to fit the photos that you have taken. Whether you are creating with one of our gorgeous Express Collections or building your own custom layout using a kit and pattern, you can personalize the layouts to make them truly your own.

     This change also opens new avenues for your classic scrapbooking, as you can now take advantage of our high quality silver halide photo processors to obtain prints of your photos in exactly the sizes and orientations that you want by using Studio J!"

The quality of the printed pages from Studio J is amazing.  I can't wait to order some custom sized pictures to use in my hand-crafted pages!  Studio J allows not only allows me to catch up on my scrapbooking, but  is also now a valuable resource in printing some of the hard-to find size pictures such as 2 x 2.  

I'll be posting up some more videos soon to help you learn new techniques in Studio J, but until then, you can watch some Studio J how-to videos at your own pace over at my website HERE.  Have fun!

On the Sixth Day of Christmas...

...my crafty hands made me, A Christmas Layout on Studio J!

I made this one a while back, and now is the perfect time to share it!  I love Studio J, and need to play with it a lot more to make a dent in scrapbooking my digital pictures!  These are from Christmas 2011.

Decorating our tree is something the girls and I look forward to each year, and there are so many memories wrapped up in each little ornament we hang.

I left some of the spaces blank in order to add "real" embellishments and stickers to it later on.  I think they will add a little pop to the pages. 

Have you tried Studio J yet?  It is totally free to play around with, so you should!  Here is a link to set up your account:  Studio J  Let me know what you think.  :)