FREE Big Idea Festival @ BPS

I love the classes and instructors at Big Picture Scrapbooking. And I love free stuff. Put the two together ... and I'm a happy clam! Here's some info from the website about the Big Idea Festival:

"You are invited to a FREE festival packed full of big ideas at Big Picture Scrapbooking this August! Join us for 13 fun-filled days featuring 13 of our talented instructors. Each instructor will share 3 project ideas with you - that's 39 projects, all for free! We will be showcasing the creative styles of:

Nic Howard
Stacy Julian
Elizabeth Dillow
May Flaum
Jen Mohler
Tracey Clark
Georgana Hall
Elisha Snow
Lisa Day
Tami Morrison
Amy Sorenson
Jessica Turner
Karen Grunberg

Each instructor will be using the July Cocoa Daisy kit, and showing you tons of different ways you can play with product! Plus, Cocoa Daisy is offering BPS students a discount code for 20% off the July kit (code available in the classroom).

Oh, and don't forget the fun daily challenges and amazing giveaways, generously provided by some of our favorite manufacturers:

Cosmo Cricket
Pink Paislee
Helmar USA
Doodlebug
Jenni Bowlin
Lily Bee
Prima
Unity Stamps
Nikki Sivils
American Crafts
Bella Blvd.
Girls Paperie

You won't want to miss this summer extravaganza! Registration is completely FREE, and you'll have forever access to the materials in class!

Cute mug warmers

I found both these FREE patterns on the Knit Picks website and thought the one above would be a great way to try my hand at cables. These would make a great holiday gift for those who love their coffee or tea.

So many ideas and patterns, so little time to knit. Luckily, there are still six months until Christmas. ;)

Where Scrapbooking Ideas Come From by Debbie Hodge

I recently discovered Debbie Hodge's FREE class, Where Scrapping Ideas Come From, and have already picked up a few great tips just in her first two lessons. Debbie's FREE 12-lesson class is available via email. Just click here to check-out her website and sign-up for the class. Here's the class intro from her website:

"Just as trees grow branches and branches grow leaves, I believe that a scrapbook page structure can grow ideas for you–original layout ideas that flow easily once you’ve established a starting place.

The structure for a scrapbook page has two components that correlate to the parts of a tree – the trunk and the leafy branches.

The “trunk” of a scrapbook page is the use of design principles. There aren’t a ton of them, and even if you’ve never formally heard about them in conjunction with scrapbooking, you’re probably already using them as you scrapbook or even arrange the furniture and decorations in your home. These design principles are:

Emphasis
Contrast
Balance
Alignment
Repetition
Flow

The “branches” of your scrapbook page are parts that you combine (using the trunk to guide your choices and placement of them on the page). These page parts are:

Photos
Journaling
Embellishments
Titles
Canvas

Once you know about this structure, you know how to approach the blank page and your own idea generation (i.e., what are some titles that go with photos of my dog? or what images and shapes would look good embellishing a wedding page?)

Once you understand basic design principles, you know how to approach choosing your page elements (i.e., do I want to emphasize one strong photo or am I going to give them all the same weight? or what color canvas would really make my photos stand out?)"

New Art & Soul webisode

Check out the new Art & Soul® Episode! CTMH has cooked up some projects and techniques that are a feast for the eyes. From decorative journaling boxes to adorable peek-a-boo windows to Irresistibles™ chipboard die-cuts, the new Art & Soul episode has your recipe for creative success. Watch now for some new ways to satisfy your artistic appetite. Go to Cooking Up Creativity now to view the featured technique - spot on journaling.

Plus, if you want to make your own covered recipe box similar to the one Jeanette Lynton shows in this episode, just download the templates and get started.

Quote for the day

"Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun."

Mary Lou Cook

Stacy Julian & CTMH make a great pair

I am a regular follower (notice I didn't use the term stalker) of Stacy Julian

and PBS, and was thrilled to read Stacy's post today about her summer plans.

Pop over to Stacy's blog to see how she will be documenting "My Favorite Summer". I've decided to create 4 books for the Sweet Family Summer of

2010, one for each child and a fourth for Don and I to capture our favorites.

If you need to purchase CTMH My Creations Board Books to help document

your favorite summer, click the SHOP 24/7 @ CTMH link to the left.

The Purpose Driven Life

Copied from today's Daily Devotional at Purpose Driven Connection:

Barriers to Knowing God's Will by Rick Warren

Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.
Ephesians 5:17 (NLT)

"Here's the key: God's will for your life begins with a friendship. "
Every day I talk to people who say, "If there is a God and he allowed me to be born and I'm still alive, what is his plan for me?"
"Why am I here and what am I supposed to be doing? How do I find out God's will for me so I don't waste my life?"

The Bible says this: "So be careful how you live. Don't live like ignorant people, but like wise people. Make good use of every opportunity you have, because these are evil days. Don't be fools, then, but try to find out what the Lord wants you to do." (Ephesians 5:15-17 TEV)

It's wise to figure out why I was put on earth. It's foolish to go through life without a clue. Fortunately, God doesn't play games with us. He wants us to understand his will for our lives. When we look toward the wrong things, we create barriers to discovering God's will.

For instance:

God's will is not about a feeling. God's plan for your life is not discovered through some emotional sensation. His plan for your life is practical, not mystical.
God's will is not about a formula. God's will is not some step-by-step procedure that you rigidly follow through life. Life just isn't that simple! You need more than a formula.

Here's the key: God's will for your life begins with a friendship. God is far more interested in having you establish a relationship with him than he is interested in having you follow a set of rules. First and foremost, God wants you to get to know him, like he already knows you. Once this relationship is established everything else—career, family, goals, recreation, ambitions, finances, health and friendships—will begin to fall into their proper place.

SWAGGER WAGON

Too funny! I've owned 2 Siennas (2000 and 2004) and have absolutely LOVED them. If we didn't need the towing capacity of my Toyota Sequoia, I'd still be driving a "Swagger Wagon".

CTMH's June Stamp Of The Month

June's SOTM, "Wonderful Friend", is the perfect set to create all those fabulous Father's Day projects or scrap your Father's Day photos.

Want to join an exclusive club? Every month Close To My Heart offers you an exclusive My Acrylix® D-size stamp set FREE or at a large discount. The stamp set is available to qualifying customers for that month only. It’s our way of saying thank you, and your way of getting fantastic deals on our amazing stamps!

JACKPOT JUNE = DAILY DEALS!

Enjoy two types of deal days in June. Hit the jackpot and win free products or grab loaded goodie boxes at 50% off or more!

On GOODIE BOX days… you can purchase one box filled with popular products at 50% or more off retail value! Each goodie box day will feature different surprise items, so you can score a wide variety of current and recently retired products.

On JACKPOT days… 5 products will be offered for sale at discounted prices. One of the 5 products is the mystery jackpot item for that day, but we’re not telling which—exciting, isn’t it! If you happen to order the mystery jackpot item, we’ll reward you with one or more FREE Close To My Heart products, with shipping included on the free items! If you purchase all 5 products, you’re guaranteed to hit the jackpot! There’s no purchase limit—if you order multiple secret jackpot items, we’ll send you the same number of free items.

These special offers include discounted shipping/handling and are only available on your Consultant’s MyCTMH® website. Check back every day for the latest offer.

Offer valid June 1–July 1 at 10:00 am (EST). New deals are posted each day at 11:00 am (EST). To be eligible for discounted prices, your order must contain only Jackpot June items. Visit facebook.com/closetomyheart or closetomyheart.com to see what the mystery Jackpot item was for the previous day. Offers are while supplies last.