Studio J - FREE JPG this month!

During June, CTMH is giving you a FREE Studio J^® JPG file, with no purchase required! Simply log on to Studio J^® during this month, create a layout with your favorite products, then order one JPG file of your layout while checking out. No other purchase is required...you have nothing to lose and one beautiful layout to gain! Once you've ordered it, post it on your favorite social media site and share with all of your friends.

New Customers: log on to Studio J, create an account (no purchase required), then start experiencing Studio J..

Returning Customers: log into your account, create your layout, then order your FREE JPG as you check out.

There's more information here.

June Stamp of the Month: Jubilation - set of 24

Here is the entire set!

...and beautiful artwork!...and many ways to purchase it - or better yet - earn it FREE!

I'd love to see the layout you create this month for free! Be sure to email me with a link to where your JPG is posted. I'd love to see it!

Have a blessed day!

Laurie

April 2011 Specials

Sparkly Sparkly! You're gonna love this one! During April 2011, Studio J® members will receive one free package of self-adhesive clear Sparkles and Opaques Pearl adhesive gems to add shine and glitz to your custom-printed layouts. Visit my website to learn more about Studio J scrapbooking.

April Stamp of the Month

With the start of a new month comes new specials! The April Stamp of the Month, Blessed, has a unique flair making it perfect for spring projects and beyond. It's a set of 12 stamps that you're sure to love, love, love!

See you soon~

Laurie

March 2011 Stamp of the Month

So totally Easter! This traditional spring set will have you reliving the days of childhood and the story of Peter Rabbit! Coloring brings tranquility to your art so spend a few minutes with chalks, pens, or markers to add some dreamy soft colors to your stamped images. Visit My Website to place an order than includes Sentimental Seasons (set of 10), the March Stamp of the Month.

March MyCTMH special! Place a $35 minimum order and you will receive a special gift in the mail from me. Offer good through March 31, so tell your friends and family, fellow stampers, and scrapbookers! Be sure to leave a comment, too.

See you again soon!
~Laurie

Day 18/28 Tips, Techniques, and Training Tidbits - Studio J®

Ah, here's a terrific tip for you today...it has to do with your Studio J® real estate!
Below your workspace, you'll likely see thumbnails of all of the layouts you've created for this project. You can buy yourself more real estate (working area) by collapsing the thumbnails. Expand them to see all of your projects at a glance.



Until tomorrow~
Laurie

Day 17/28 Tips, Techniques, and Training Tidbits - Studio J®

I've been showing you the filing cabinet over the last couple of days so let's keep exploring...

In the filing cabinet on the left of your Studio J® work area, click on the My Stickease tab. There are several sub-folders so click on the arrow to the right of Alphabet and more options will drop down for you. You won't believe the My Stickease® selections you have at your fingertips. The best part is that you can use them over and over and over and over....and...over! You never run out of My Stickease®.

By now, you should be convinced that being a Studio J® member is right for you! Don't wait any longer...visit my website then click on Studio J® Scrapbooking. This could quite possibly be the answer to your many, many digital image files!

More tomorrow~
Laurie

Day 16/28 Tips, Techniques, and Training Tidbits - Studio J®

Want to see lots and lots of fun examples of layouts created in Studio J? Click here then to go Art Gallery and be prepared to be inspired!

Embellishments are sinch to add to your layouts. In the filing cabinet on the left of your Studio J® work area, click on the Embellishments tab. There are several sub-folders so click on the arrow to the right of Buttons and more options will drop down for you. Select the embellishment of your choice then the color. Now you're ready to drag that embellishment right over to your layout. Add as many buttons, brads, ribbons and more with the click of a button!

To become a Studio J® member, visit my website then click on Studio J® Scrapbooking. You're just a couple of clicks away from hours and hours of fun!

More tomorrow~
Laurie

Day 15/28 Tips, Techniques, and Training Tidbits - Studio J®

Expanding the "Text" tab in the filing cabinet on the left side of your window gives you access to several text boxes. Simply click on one of your choice:

Quick Title Tool
Title Area
Journaling Area

...then, while keeping it clicked with your mouse, drag it onto your layout and place it where you'd like. You can move them around, delete them, or add more areas. You'll know it's ready to be dropped onto your layout because of the green "+" symbol.

Go get creative!
Laurie

Day 14/28 Tips, Techniques, and Training Tidbits - Studio J®

Today's tip is such a great one...There is a tool bar just above your workspace. The first tool is a zoom tool and it reads "100%". Click on the arrow to the right and you'll see a slider bar with a "+" and "-". Use this slider to zoom in and out to check for details. This is especially convenient for adding or editing small details such as ribbon in buttons.

Are you having fun playing around with Studio J® and your new skills yet? I hope so!

See you tomorrow~
Laurie

Day 13/28 Tips, Techniques, and Training Tidbits - Studio J®

A big congratulations and "Thank You" to all of you who took advantage of the FREEBIE DAY (February 11) by purchasing a one-year membership! That's what this blog is all about...information, inspiration, creativity, and pampering.

Another great perk to Studio J is the fact that you will receive an e-mail notice when your projects are going to expire. Don't worry, though...you will have plenty of notice before they expire! Your active projects will be saved for up to 90 days. You extend that timeline for your active projects each time you make a purchase. Purchased projects will remain archived for one full year after purchase. How handy is that?!

When you have an incomplete project (layout), you can come back to it at a later time to continue your work or make a purchase.

See you tomorrow~
Laurie

Day 12/28 Tips, Techniques, and Training Tidbits - Studio J®

There are many amazing features of Studio J that we have yet to discover! Today I'd like to teach you how to switch paper (both cardstock and background and texture). Let's say you have your layout all selected but when you start to add photos, the background color or pattern is too busy, too plain, or just the wrong color. Here's where the power of Studio J comes in...simply click within the color or pattern to select it (indicated by a blue outline). With it selected, now go to the filing cabinet (the tabs along the left side of the workarea) and click on Paper to expand it. Click to select the new paper you'd like to use and drag it onto the paper you want to replace. It's that easy!

See you tomorrow,

Laurie

Day 11/28 Tips, Techniques, and Training Tidbits - Studio J®

FREE ITEM

Get in the habit of hitting the "Save" button, found in the upper right of the workspace. This is vital to your workflow! Heaven forbid your internet connection is lost and all of your hard work and creative energy is POOF, gone. So, my recommendation is that every few minutes you click that magical "Save' button to insure your beautiful work is saved.

Below the work area where your layouts are shown in large size, you may see "thumbnail" images of your actual layout images. You can toggle them on and off. When they are in the off state, you have a little more "real estate" to work with your full page layouts.

TODAY IS FREEBIE DAY!!!

Each person who purchases a 1 year membership at $99 will receive a beautiful 12 x 12 Faux Album FREE! So, go get signed up at www.laurie.myctmh.com then send me an e-mail so we can get your album ordered. This special expires on Monday, February 14th. Be sure to direct your friends to my blog where they are eligible for the same special!

See you tomorrow,

Laurie

Day 10/28 Tips, Techniques, and Training Tidbits - Studio J®

Images for uploading into Studio J should be no more than 9.5 MB in size. Before uploading images into Studio J, make any image corrections using another photo editing software. Examples of image corrections include red eye removal, color balance, color correction, etc.

You can choose to add your photos all at once or later. It doesn't have any effect on your workflow other than you probably do want some pictures to work with!

There is a maximum of 150 photos for a project. You'll be creating some outstanding layouts with that number of photos!!

See you tomorrow,

Laurie

Day 9/28 Tips, Techniques, and Training Tidbits - Studio J®

In your workspace area of Studio J®, where you are working on your layout, there is a menu along the top edge of the work area. Those are important menu items to know about. For example, the 100% is a zooming in/out scale. Use this to take a closer look at certain areas of your layout to check color or position of various elements. The Undo tab is also very helpful to undo states of work. Explore the others and don't miss "Copy" and "Paste". Let's say you have added a button and ribbon tie and you'd like to repeat that throughout your layout. Click on both the button and center thread then click Copy then Paste. Use the move tool to move elements around on your layouts.

It's lots of fun to play and explore! Go get started right now! You can create a FREE account by visiting my website and clicking on Studio J® Scrapbooking.

Have a great day!

Laurie

8/28 Tips, Techniques, and Training Tidbits - Studio J®

Journaling is essential in classic scrapbooking...and it's just as important - and easy - in Studio J®! You can add journaling in a variety of ways:

Start by using the existing journaling area in the layout you've selected. You can alway add more journaling areas by clicking on the word "Text" in the "filing cabinet" area on the left side of the window.

Maybe you'd like to convert a photo well to a journaling area? Easy! Just click on the photo will (white area with an "x" in the center) and a pop up menu will appear. Use the icon that is placed 2nd from the right. It's just to the left of the trash can icon.

I'm telling you, you've got to give this a try! There's no commitment to setting up an account and exploring the Studio J® environment. Don't wait! Log in today at www.laurie.myctmh.com.

See you tomorrow!

Laurie

7/28 Tips, Techniques, and Training Tidbits - Studio J®

One of the greatest things about being a Studio J® member is that you have exclusive access to high-resolution JPG files as well as low-res files perfect for social networking (emailing or posting on blogs or Facebook, etc.). Members also receive Memory Protectors® FREE for each custom-printed two-page layout. Plus, shipping and handling is FREE with your monthly order of 4-20 layouts.

Memberships are available as follows:

12 month membership: $99.00

3 month (try-before-you-buy): $30.00

5-pack: $55.00 (includes 5 two-page layouts, 5 memory protectors, and free shipping)

In a nutshell, membership comes with lots of perks such as exclusive patterns, kits, and free memory protectors!

See you tomorrow,

Laurie

5/28 Tips, Techniques, and Training Tidbits - Studio J®

You can embellish your Studio J® layouts with buttons, ribbon, brads, and all of your favorite accessories! This can be done while you are creating your layouts in Studio J® or they can be added to the printed layout. Additionaly, within Studio J®, you have the flexibility of changing the color of any embellishments iust like you would make color selections of accessories and embellishments in classic scrapbooking. Too much fun!

See you tomorrow,

Laurie

4/28 Tips, Techniques, and Training Tidbits - Studio J®

If you're anything like me, you probably have lots of questions about Studio J®.

What is Studio J® online software?

What makes scrapbooking with Studio J® unique?

Who prints my layouts?

For answers to these questions and many more, visit My Website, click on Studio J® Online Scrapbooking then scroll down toward the bottom. There you'll find many answers to questions you didn't even realize you had!

See you tomorrow!

Laurie

3/28 Tips, Techniques, and Training Tidbits - Studio J®

Wouldn't you love to see examples of Studio J® layouts? Here you go! Just go to StudioJ.com and click on Art Gallery. You'll see at least 24 completed layouts that were created in Studio J®! Pay attention to the beautiful papers....they'll look familiar because they are either available now in the Spring 2011 Idea Book or were available in a past Idea Book. Even some of our (favorite!) discontinued papers are available in Studio J®.

Paper layering is easy when you create your layouts. Let's say there's a particular background paper (or cardstock) that you'd like to swap for another. With the click of a button, whala and it's done!

To become a member, try it out, or just read more about it, click here and follow the link to Studio J® Online Scrapbooking.

See you tomorrow!

Laurie

2/28 Tips, Techniques, and Training Tidbits

Studio J® is an online scrapbooking studio environment using all of your favorite Close To My Heart products! All you need is a computer and internet connection. Believe it or not, as long as you have pictures on your computer (or access to them), you can scrapbook in Studio J®!

Access Studio J® here then click on Studio J® Scrapbooking. Select Create An Account in order to "try before you buy" or to purchase a Membership. Note: Playing and exploring required! (Just kidding:-) No purchase is required until you are ready to check out with your purchases.

Memberships available:
~ 12 month membership is $99.00
~ 3 month trial membership is $30.00
~ 5 Pack is $55.00 (you pay for 5 studio completed layouts)

Give the gift of a Membership for a birthday, anniversary, or for no reason at all! It can all be done through my website or through contacting me.

The creativity is endless! Start by selecting and uploading your photos for a project. A project can be a specific event like a birthday party, vacation, wedding, etc. Name your project then upload selected photos to that project. You can have multiple projects going at the same time. From there, you're ready to roll!

~Laurie

February Specials Are Here!

February is packed with amazing deals! Without any delay, let's get started...

1. 28 Days of Studio J®
2. Free, Free, & Fabulous!
3. February Stamp of the Month
4. A Perfect 10 for Studio J®

1. 28 Days of Studio J (1/28)
Each day in February I will post at least one tip, technique, or training tidbit for Studio J®. On THREE random days there will be a giveaway FOR YOU so make sure you read my blog every day. The GIVEAWAYS will pop up randomly...it will be lots of fun! When you're ready to become a Studio J scrapbooker, click here.

Today's Tips, Techniques, or Training Tidbits
* Being a Studio J® member will grant you access to exclusive content not available to those without a membership. That means cutting-edge layout designs and papers non-members can't have access to.

* You can rotate your layouts! Once you've selected your kit mix, use the arrows found in the upper left and right corners to roate each page individually. Or, swap them from side to side by using the center arrows found above the layout.


* Try it before you buy it! Just go to my website http://www.laurie.myctmh.com/ and click on Studio J®. Setting up a new account is easy and there's no purchase required to try it out.

2. Free, Free, & Fabulous!
"What's free?" you ask. Well, here you go: When you join Close To My Heart during February and achieve Straight To The Top, you will receive Straight To The Top rewards (aka FREEBIES!) of $100 in select product credit. PLUS you receive a rebate of $129 on your New Consultant Kit, making it FREE! It's free products and a free kit—a fabulous deal! Questions? Just ask me. Ready to sign up? Pop on over to my website and follow the links to Your Opportunities.



3. February Stamp of the Month - Friendship
Celebrate special friendships this month with this elegant 8-piece stamp set. It's classy, it's elegant, it's versatile! And you can get it at a discount, too.

4. A Perfect 10 For Studio J
Studio J®...have you tried it out yet? If you answered "yes" or "no", you're in luck! Check this out...if you're already a member, February is free layout month for Studio J® members! For every 9 custom-printed Studio J® layouts you buy, you’ll receive the 10th layout free. To receive the discount, just add 10 or more layouts to your cart. You’ll see a discount reflected in your order total. And you can totally take advantage of this promotion by ordering in multiples of 10. For example, if you buy 9, get 1 free. Or, buy 18, get 2 free, buy 27, get 3 free. You get the idea! If you’re not a member yet, read my blog each day this month and you'll have GOOD reason to become one!



Warmly,
Laurie

Some of my favorite "little" scrappers! These kids come every month, rain or shine! Each one of them brings somthing unique to the class. Ben has an amazing artistic ability...and I mean really amazing. Erica tells great jokes and makes fun of me! McKenzie is quiet but that's why she gets the star for most pages completed. Lexi has so much fun adding "fluff" and other extras to her many completed pages. Ahhh, they're so much fun! See you kids next month, too!

If your kids live in Bishop and the surrounding area and would like to participate in my monthly Kids' Club Scrapbooking class, contact me! I'd love to have them.

Inspirations - January's Special

There's still time to order from our Inspirations Brochure...if you haven't seen the great stamp sets, beautiful artwork, and amazing deals in it, you can view it online. Just go to my website and click on Inspirations Brochure in the bottom right corner. Page by page you'll be totally inspired!

For the photographer in me, my favorite stamp set is Take A Picture, shown on pg. 9. And how irresistable is the alphabet set, Bohemian, on pg.11? Ordering is super easy...contact me or shop online!

~Laurie

January Stamp of the Month - Find Your Style

Beautiful images!! I love how they look when stamped....elegant and stylish! The set is available only during January so don't miss out! Order yours by January 31st, 2011. Did you know you can earn it FREE or at a discount? Ask me how!

This beautiful set is featured in Inspirations....you've got to take a peek at this amazing publication!