Here it Comes!

The brand NEW spring/summer 2013 Close To My Heart Idea Book will go LIVE on Feb 1! I can't wait for you to see all the great new papers, embellishments, stamp sets and home decor items we have to offer! You are going to be blown away!


Click here for the online version of the Idea Book.




Here's a quick sampling of a few things to come:

Buzz & Bumble Workshop on the Go Scrapbook Kit:

For Always Workshop on the Go Scrapbook Kit:

Home Decor with Chantilly:

Home Decor with Claire:

And there is much, much more!

Call or email today to get your FREE copy of the NEW Idea Book today!

And, Studio J is pulling out all the stops for February! All Studio J layouts are just $5 each! 

No kidding!

Happy Scrapping!

~Tricia

Clean & Simple Cards

What a great start 2013 has gotten off to!  We are in the process of moving across the country and are very excited about our new ministry as well as our future!  The holiday season brought many blessings this past year. We not only had a wonderful Christmas Day at home with our three kids who still live at home, we had a family wedding on Dec 30!  All eight kids were able to be there, along with all but one of their spouses and one of our grandkids. It was a great time of being together and celebrating the family God has blessed us with. It continues to grow, too!

Christmas time brings presents and even though my hubby is still unemployed, we managed to give all the kids presents. It's amazing how creative I can be when money is tight. I made the vast majority of the gifts we gave.

We also received many, many gifts - and those gifts require hand-written thank-you notes. This year, I went with clean, simple designs for my thank-you notes.  I used a combination of CTMH's White Daisy card stock, my Cuttlebug with various folders and CTMH's Cricut Artiste Cartridge, along with a little stamping. Here's a sampling:

Have you made and mailed your thank-you notes yet?

Happy card making!

~Tricia

Get Organized in 2013!

Clearly the Best: Random Stamping

Getting Organized to Move

We are moving. I'm not sure when; I'm not 100% sure exactly where. But, we are moving and we are moving across the country. It's a huge undertaking to move a household as large as ours. Even though we only have three kids left at home now, we moved to the house we currently live in as a family of seven, since five of our eight kids lived with us then.  But, even then, we downsized from a 3,600 square foot house (including a refinished attic which served as a home office) to a 2,500 square foot house with the belongings of a family of 10 since none of our adult kids who had moved out had taken any furniture or major belongings.

So, last night I decided to organize our move. The house is already half-way packed up; we are not quite down to the bare essentials, but we are pared down quite a bit. I'm excited about being in our new place; I am not excited about the actual move.  But, we have truck drivers lined up and ready to go, just waiting for us to give them the word.

I found some wonderful, very organizational printables from the Gifts We Use Blog by Ferly Tangonan to help create a moving notebook and plan to use it as a Family Moving Manual to keep everyone, including myself, organized through this move.

Ferly has some great printables for all kinds of organization!

Being creative and practical can work together! 

My moving planner pages are decorative, but the notebook, itself, is plain.

Happy Organizing!

~Tricia

Clearly the Best: Passion for Patterns

A Giveaway - Don't Miss Out!

Elle's Studio is having a fabulous giveaway - and you get several chances to enter!

From Elle's Studio:

Elle’s Studio is giving away a bunch of goodies from their Sweet Life collection and everyday tag line – some of Kelly’s favorites! You’ll be able to find plenty of uses for their tags – besides layouts, they are perfect for mini albums, cards, Project Life and more. And, just in time for the holidays, they now have gift certificates available!

Plus, all of our Signature Series readers are invited to Celebrate December with Elle’s Studio! The month of December will be packed with Holiday Inspiration, projects, layouts, and gift ideas from many talented designers. Be sure to check theElle’s Studio blog EVERY DAY for prizes, giveaways, and inspiration! And speaking of inspiration, here’s some from Kelly herself – featuring some of Elle’s Studio’s super cute ‘Sweet Life’ cut-outs!

Have fun!
~Tricia