Something different ...

I've represented Close To My Heart products for a long time now - about 6 years.  It started working together with my good friend Nicole doing a few crops for causes and a couple workshops - just enough to keep the consultancy active.  Then I branched off on my own while she pursued Gold Canyon candles (which are great!) and I started regular clubs, crops and workshops.  It was great fun and I developed some amazing friendships.  But, as the kids grew, I came to realize that the scrapbooking I was doing was primarily to serve the needs of my clients, so I pulled back and became a hobbyist.  I still do orders and love their products, but no longer promote it.

But, in all that time, I never once tried one facet of Close To My Heart's products.  I never completed a Studio J layout (J is for Jeanette Lynton, the founder).  Studio J is their digital scrapbooking - it uses Jeanette's patterns (sketches) and the CTMH papers, then allows you to change them up a little as you play with your designs.  So I seized an opportunity Friday night to whip up 4 layouts!  The best feature is that while they are printing and shipping the physical layouts to me, they have also provided me with .jpg files of the layouts, so I can share them before I physically have them :)

This was my first attempt - I wasn't quite happy with the passport layout I did last week, so I thought I'd try a digital do-over.  This works for me :)  It was fun too.

When we first learned that the kids would get to play at the Blades game, we were so excited.  But then we discovered that the night they were booked was 25th anniversary for Sask. Place too and they were going for an attendance record.  So rather than the usual 3000 fans for the game, there was about 9000!  It was amazing to see our little guys on that huge ice.

These are photos from our New Year's celebration with friends.  I'm sure we woke anyone in the neighbourhood who was asleep before midnight as we ran around outside with our sparklers and LED headbands.

Recently, the school had a "formal day" and my daughter wanted to wear her beautiful red dress.  She was up early to get ready and looked gorgeous.  I really wonder how she coped at recess with ski pants and snow piles ...

I must admit, Studio J was fun.  It was easy to do and pretty quick - I did these 4 layouts in about an hour and a half.  The real test of it will be whether I'll be satisfied with "flat" layouts when they arrive (might have to add some dimension with more embellishments lol).  If you want to try it, you can access it through my website at carybrunett.ctmh.com and choosing the Studio J tab.  You'll be asked to set up an account, but there is no charge for anything until you actually complete an order.  So, you can play around as much as you want :)  You can also access any great CTMH products on the site (in the "shop" tab) or see the current Idea Book (in the "products" tab). 

Isn't it funny how you never really get away from your roots?