It's the May SOTM Blog Hop!

It's a new month and that means a new Stamp-of-the-Month is available.  It also means we have another blog hop.  If you've come from Kimberly Smith's blog, you're on the right track.  If this is your first stop, just keep clicking until you get back here and you will have seen all the gorgeous artwork!  This month's stamp set is lovely.  It has some fabulous images that are perfect for adding a classic look to a card or layout, celebrating just about anything.

May also means that a new Idea Book is going live to customers.  I have chosen to use some brand new products on my card.

In fact, the card itself is new!  It's one of our new clear cards.  We have scallop circle ones and square ones with rounded corners.  I loved working with this one, my first clear card!  I also used our new Splendor paper pack, the cloud paper is one of my favourite new patterns in the whole book!  The flower and leaf are our new Irresistibles Pizzaz and the brad is a new Designer Brad that matches the Splendor pack.  Here are a couple more views:

The design is a pattern from Wishes, one of our How-To Programs.  I divided the pattern between the inside and front of the card.  You can see what I mean in the next photo.

And now, it's time to move on to the next blog, Angela Tutton.  Keep hopping to see the fabulous work she's created.  If you get lost along the way, Helen will have the whole list of participants on her blog.
Happy Creating!

Studio J Goes Live Tomorrow!

It's finally time.  Studio J will be going live to everyone, including you, tomorrow morning at 8am mountain time, 10am eastern!  You will now get the chance to create your own beautiful studio layouts in no time at all.  Choose those photos you took just yesterday and get them scrapbooked! 
How do I get to the Studio J website?  Just go to my website, simplycreating.myctmh.com, and you'll see a link to Studio J.  I'm not sure where it will be, but when I do, I'll edit this post to add that information.

Need some incentive to check out this amazing new product?  The first five customers (sorry, no consultants allowed!) who can tell me their favourite part of Studio J, will win a card handmade by me!

Please note that my website will not be accessible from midnight to 8am mountain time tomorrow morning to prepare for the Studio J "roll-out"!

Have fun!
Happy Creating!

It's Almost Studio J Time!

As consultants, we've been playing with Studio J for a little while.  I just love it!  I'm getting so much scrapbooking done.  I've completed some 2-page layouts in about 15 minutes.  I am normally a very slow worker when it comes to scrapbooking.  It takes me a while to choose which photos in particular to use, unless I don't need to worry about that step because my layout is for club and I'll add photos later.  Then I need to choose papers and try to picture what each paper would look like on my layout.  I change my mind so many times!  Then I have to choose the right pattern and once I get things cut, choose the right embellishments.  It can take me hours!  So 15 minutes for a layout was mind-blowing to me. 
These layouts look fabulous when printed.  You'd actually have to run your hand over it to realize that those brads aren't actually real brads.  Of course, you can always add your own "real" embellishments afterwards for a mix of online studio and classic.
Here's a sneak peek of a couple layouts I've made that I just love.  Just click on the images for a closer look.

One of my favourite features is that you can re-size the My Stickese to fit whatever you need, which is what I did with the kite, and the innocence and play images.

This is my favourite one so far.  I don't actually own any of this paper pack, for some reason, and so had fun playing with it on Studio J.  I can't wait to see it in person!

Stay tuned for more project examples (I'm working on our El Salvador trip right now!) and to find out when you'll get the chance to play with this great online digital scrapbooking program.

Happy Creating!