Studio J Digital Scrapbooking

I don't care for digital scrapbooking, but I thought I would put this information out there anyway. I realize that it's fun and quick, but I personally prefer to do some real hands-on scrapbooking. The following videos were put together by CTMH and walk you through a few Studio J projects.

CTMH offers a Studio J membership which you can read more about here. On the other hand, if you don't want to purchase a membership, you can try it out for FREE. They also have an Art Gallery where you can view digital layouts.

Jill's Calendar Toppers

Jill, a friend and customer, made this for her mom for Mother's Day. These are for the Event Calendar. The calendar is a perpetual calendar that you can add birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays that stay on the same date. You can see what it looks like here. This really does make a good gift for parents and grandparents.

Great job, Jill. I love it!

No Place Like Holmes by Jason Lethcoe

 Nowadays there just are not very many “wholesome” books to choose from for older elementary kids. This age group can still find Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries, but oftentimes those books aren’t advertised. Instead, it’s vampires, fairies, children spouting off rude and offensive words, and being disrespectful.

No Place Like Holmes is a book I can’t wait to share with my children! The main character, Griffin, is a very likeable character, as is his uncle. With all the “spy” rage right now, I believe children will fall in love with this book. It will keep them intrigued and full of suspense. Who could resist a mystery about the Loch Ness Monster?

I enjoyed the fact that Griffin is a well-rounded young man who respects those he comes in contact with. Throughout the book, his language is appropriate and he also unashamedly shows his faith.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this is a book series, so I can’t wait for the next one. I will be keeping this on my Nook for awhile.

The only thing that I did not care for was the fact that it was a little slow in the beginning. I don’t know if that was me reading an eBook for the first time or if it truly was monotonous. I suppose I will warn my kids to stick with it because it does get better.

I would recommend this book for 9-12 year olds.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Mix and Mingle Banner

This banner is beautiful! Watch this YouTube video from CTMH.



(As usual, I apologize about the size of the video. Until someone clues me in on how to shrink these videos, this is how you'll get them!)

Five Question Friday, a day late...

1. Tube socks, calf socks, crew, ankle, none? Any type.

2. Was your childs (children's) name a mutual decision or was it a debate? If you don't have children, do you plan on giving your spouse a say, or do you have a name you MUST have, regardless if your other half likes it or not?! I think we discussed together, but I always thought his names were no good. I have this thing where I can't name a child if I already know someone with that name. The more kids you have, the harder it is to name them all! 

3. What is your favorite type of weather? Spring and Fall and nothing in between.

4. If left to your own devices, what time would you wake up every day? 5:30am. It's the only quiet time I get.

5. Have you bought your cemetery plots yet? No, am I that old?

Sketchy Thursday Challenge with Mayberry

 I am a Challenge Junkie, only I never have time to actually take part in the challenge. The ones I like to visit weekly are:
Mojo Monday
Heart 2 Heart
Color Q
Color Throwdown
Play Date Cafe
Sassy Lil' Sketches
365 Cards
Better Living Through Scrapbooking
My Little Sketch Book
Sketchy Thursday (thanks to Kayla)

So this week, I forced myself to do one. I chose to use the one from Sketchy Thursday. This is their sketch and we were supposed to draw inspiration from the tea cups, as far as colors go.

Now, here's what I cam up with:

I'm just loving the Mayberry papers. More than I thought I would. In fact, it was one of my least favorite paper packs, but I really think the colors in it are so versatile.

You can order this paper pack from my website here.
And don't forget about this month's Close To My Heart special!

Washington, by Paul Vickery and Stephen Mansfield

I mostly enjoy fiction, so this is a new read for me. Last summer I picked up a book by Andrew Jackson and LOVED it. I learned so much about him. Before reading about him, all I recalled from American History was that he was a president.

Since that book was so enjoyable, I thought I would read Washington by Paul Vickery and Stephen Mansfield.  I knew a little more about George Washington that I did about Jackson. However, I just could not get into this book. It just did not hold my attention. It did a very thorough job of describing his military career and the type of general that he was. The one thing I did enjoy was that it delved into his character—what he thought, why he did what he did, how he wasn’t perfect.

I think it just had too much information about too many things and didn’t really give the reader time to “catch up” to what was being written about. I felt lost the entire time I read this book.

If you already know a lot about Washington and the battles of the Revolutionary War, then this book is probably right up your alley. Because there is so much information in this book, I’ll venture to guess that you’ll learn more. Or, if you had to write a paper about his life, this book would be a good place to start. It’s so comprehensive.

Even though this book is published by Thomas Nelson, it is not overly religious. It mentions Washington’s faith a few times, but not so much that it’s a focal point at all.

I would not recommend this book to anyone in casual conversation, unless I knew they were passionate about George Washington. It did not inspire any sort of change in my life because of reading it.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

You and Me Kit Video

Here's a fun video about this month's CTMH special...uh just in case you would even consider NOT buying this awesome and oh-so-trendy kit! :)

May is National Scrapbooking Month!

Click to view image larger.

Close To My Heart is celebrating National Scrapbooking Month in May with a fantastic scrapbooking kit—the You and Me kit!

There are a few different ways to get this kit in your hot little hands:

1.    Place a minimum order of $50 and you can purchase it for only $15! That’s more than half off the retail price of $34.95!

2.    You can also purchase the kit outright for $34.95  without a minimum purchase.

      3.    If you decide to join CTMH in May as a new consultant, you’ll get the kit absolutely FREE! That’s $34.95 FREE! Not only that, but the consultant kit is HALF PRICE in May! 

Let me break that down for you: For only $64.50*, you could get about $300 in CTMH supplies! Why wouldn’t you join this month?

*this price does not include shipping and tax

Contact me with any questions you might have!