I love the launch of a new CTMH Idea Book!

Seriously, every single new paper kit and lots of the new embellishments are available to play with on Studio J right now!  I've only ordered 1/6th of what I want from this new Idea Book (I try to pace myself!), but I feel like I have the whole thing as a result of Studio J.  Check out this quick tip video and let me know what you think.

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Ready for Some Craft Time

If you haven't checked out my new blog yet, be sure to read my "A Big Thank You & Celebration" post! You'll also get a look at the new CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Collection.  Mine will be here soon; I can't wait!

I'm really ready to start scrapbooking my Hawaii photos and to finish some pages I'm donating to a friend who recently started chemo for bone cancer.  Her son asked her to create a scrapbook for him, so my goal is to help her make his wish come true.  Sharing our stories with the ones we love is so important!  I don't have kids, so I think I lose sight of that sometimes.  Yet, I'm the only one who is qualified to tell my story!  I'll share the layouts that I make for her here.  I'm working on the Technique Tuesday "Live in the Moment" kit by Ali Edwards right now.  The inks that came with the kit are so nice; they are so chalky and smooth and look absolutely beautiful.

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Nikki Sivils CHA Release

CHA is around the corner and that means a look at all the new products coming out!  Nikki Sivils released her new line early on this blog post.  She is also giving away the entire line to one lucky winner, so be sure to repost the link on your own blog!  I'm a huge fan of My Lil' Monster (thinking LOs about my cats) and You're a Hoot (want to use some of those stickers on my Harry Potter LOs)!

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Creative Weekend!

I completed a layout while cropping with a friend last night and another one today on Studio J!  I love weekends like this.  Only 1 1/2 weeks left of school and then I hope to spend my summer in many such creative endeavors.  Be sure to check out the video on my new blog, Studio Scrapping!  I'll post my other layout after I talk to my sister and iron out the journalling for it.  :-)

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Visit my new blog--Studio Scrapping!

I'm so excited about my new blog, Studio Scrapping, which focuses on all things Studio J!  I spent the last month setting up my new blog and coordinating my Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts with it.  It is a one-stop-shop for everything you want to know about Studio J.  Now that I'm "done" creating the site, I can get back to creating tutorials.  I have a ton of ideas that I want to share with you, so I hope you will follow me at my new site!

Close To My Heart is offering an amazing special this month...create a Studio J layout and receive a FREE JPG of it--no purchase required!  Seriously, how awesome is that?!

It gets better!  Both Close To My Heart and Studio Scrapping are holding contests this month.  Upload your free JPG to our Facebook pages, get your friends and family to "Like" your layout, and win big!

• Studio Scrapping Contest
• Close To My Heart Contest

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Studio J Boot Camp 2011

I'm sitting in the hotel lobby waiting for day two of the Studio J Boot Camp to begin.  Yesterday was a fantastic day!  I learned a couple of fun new techniques that I can't wait to share with all you Studio Scrappers!  We will get our layouts today, plus I'm downloading the JPGs right now.  Can't wait to share all 10 layouts with you!

They're here!  I'll share a few that I want my mom and sister to see right away and then the rest later since our meeting starts in 15 minutes!

This is the layout that I taught!

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Studio J Video Tutorials

Yikes...I haven't updated my blog in ages.  I have several new Studio J video tutorials up on my YouTube page, so be sure to check them out!

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More Studio J Tutorials

I'm really excited about the Studio J tutorials I've made over the past couple of weeks.  Studio J is so quick and easy, so it is perfect for beginners.  Yet, it is also ideal for those of us with some digital scrapbooking experience and Photoshop skills.  I'm going to start making tutorials to help advanced users get the most out of their Studio J membership, as well.  Until then, here are the last three videos I created.  Make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel, createwithamy, and leave me a comment!

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Creating & Embellishing Journaling Strips in Studio J

I had a great New Year's Eve with my husband and friends last night.  We always share our goals for the new year, but this time we are finding inspiration from the one little word post by Ali Edwards.  My guiding words for the year are balance and write.  I want to find balance in my life so that I have more time to write!

I created this layout using the new Wings kit that was uploaded to Studio J today.  This paper is so beautiful.  I have the classic paper kit, too, but haven't cut into it yet.  Here is a video showing how I created the journaling strips and embellished them using staples and thread from buttons.

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Face lift courtesy of Studio J's wrinkle tool!

I'm so excited about sharing this video with you today.  The photo editing tools in Studio J are awesome...especially if you don't have Photoshop or another editing program on your computer.  I demonstrate how I can remove an unsightly wrinkle with one of the editing tools built into Studio J...cheapest face lift ever!!!! I'm also happy to report that this video didn't take me very long to produce and I'm far more relaxed.  That makes a big difference in my ability to find my words.  :-)



Comments and suggestions for future topics are appreciated!

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Getting Started with Studio J Part 2

I finished the second half of the tutorial tonight!  I think I did a much better job with avoiding the "um"s, but there is one really long pause as my mind was searching for a word.  I really wanted to say "rotation thingy!"  I eventually settled on "rotation symbol"--still not the right word, but at least I didn't say thingy.  :-)

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Getting Started with Studio J Video Tutorial

My login video is a little long winded with an annoying clicking sound.  I think I figured out what that was and fixed it, but now I'm "um"ing all over the place!  I will get better at this with more practice!  This tutorial walks you through uploading photos, choosing a paper kit & pattern, coloring embellishments, and converting a photo well into a journaling box.  Now I'm going to record finishing up the layout!

Again, please let me know when you start playing around with Studio J.  I currently have one friend who is a member, but I would like to hear from more of you.  Send me your questions/needs and I'll work them in to future video tutorials.

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Sign Up for Studio J Online Scrapbooking...it's FREE!

Here is my first Studio J tutorial using Camtasia Studio.  There is an annoying clicking sound periodically; I promise to figure out what I was doing and will make it stop.  This tutorial simply shows you how to log in.  I'll start posting the good stuff tomorrow!  Please let me know when you create an account.  These tutorials will be so much easier to create if I feel like I'm talking to real people.  :-)

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Amazing Giveaway on Teresa Collins' Blog

Check out the amazing giveaway on Teresa Collins' blog!  You can enter as many times as you want.  The drawing takes place at midnight MST on Monday.  Good luck, everyone!

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Mockingjay and Scrapbooking

I finished Mockingjay, the final book of The Hunger Games trilogy, tonight and was reminded of the power of scrapbooking.  Here is a passage from the final chapter:

"I got the idea from our family’s plant book.  The place where we recorded those things you cannot trust to memory.  The page begins with the person’s picture.  A photo if we can find it.  If not, a sketch or painting...Then, in my most careful handwriting, come all the details it would be a crime to forget."

It’s all there!

I scrapbook to remember.  I scrapbook because I don’t want time to fade my memory.  If I don’t have a photo, I can draw an image or use memorabilia.  Heck, I can simply use words if that’s all I have.  I use my handwriting because it is a part of who I am, and that’s an important piece of my story.  It would be a crime to forget the people and little moments that make life worth living.  I scrapbook to remember.

The Hunger Games is a great series; I highly recommend it!

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My Favorite CTMH Product?

Close To My Heart is running a contest on Facebook asking us to blog about our favorite product.  Are they kidding me?  How can I choose a favorite?!  I love the My Acrylix stamps and have several favorites, but I couldn't choose only one.  I love the How-To books, but would have a tough time choosing the one that I like best.  CTMH has so many paper packs, embellishments, and My Creations products that make me giddy...they can't ask me to choose only one!  Don't even get me started on the 60 Exclusive Colors...oh, okay, Twilight is my favorite, but there are about 20 other colors that run a close second!

Okay, if I have to choose, I'm going to select the Workshops on the Go kits...talk about a perfect product!  Each kit includes a level 2 paper kit, an exclusive stamp set, embellishments, and a how-to guide.  It's everything I love in one coordinating packet...how awesome is that?!

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LOAD #7

The 2nd page to the layout I posted a couple days ago.  Pressed for time, so I'm glad I had this one started.

These photos were taken in Charlottesville, VA in July.  I was in DC for a CTMH event and had a week to kill back East before the Folger Shakespeare Library reunion the following weekend.  I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to visit the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, VA.  Well, it just so happened that Jan and Eric were at a conference in Charlottesville that same week!  Seriously, what are the odds!  They let me stay with them for a couple days, and we had a great time exploring the University and town.  I love spending time with them and am so glad we shared this experience.

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LOAD #6

The challenge was to create a filmstrip on the page.  I ran with prompt and created a layout that explains why I love photography.

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LOAD #5

Thank goodness for Studio J!  I would never be able to finish a layout a day without it.  Well, I guess I can't say never since I did complete LOAD 2008.  My point is that I wouldn't be able to finish it THIS month without Studio J.  The most time consuming part of this 1/2 of the layout was choosing the photos.  I'll add my journaling and the rest of the photos tomorrow.

Now I need to get to bed since I need to get up early to figure out a plan B for my Web Design class until we can get our web server set up.  We were eating up too much space on the school hard drive!

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LOAD #4

This layout has given me fits since the day I started it!  It was a WOTG that a club member selected, and I wasn't fond of the paper used in the sample.  I switched patterns and actually really liked the layout.  We were planning on spending Christmas 2008 with my mom in Boise, so I made this layout with specific photos in mind.  I was going to take a photo of the tree for the large focal point on the first page.  I was then going to take photos of the three couples and one of Katie and Kyle.  I had it all planned out and then our flight was canceled.  We were snowed in.  So, I went to plan B after building a snowman.  I had Neal take pictures of me playing in the snow; I even took a self-portrait with my snowman.  I uploaded my photos for printing, but they didn't print.  I tried printing them again but couldn't find them when I wanted to finish the layout.  After printing for a third time, I gave up...that was two years ago!  I ran across the photos last night and decided that it was time to finish this layout!  I almost had a fit when my journaling came out with uneven margins.  Yet, I'm so ready to be done with this that I pulled out a stamp set, stamped Merry and Bright a few times and am calling it good.  I will say that, even though this layout has been a bit of a curse, I absolutely LOVE this photo of Neal!

The journaling reads, "This wasn’t the Christmas we had planned.  Nature thwarted our trip to Boise to spend the holiday with my family.  Neal and I were at the airport when my mom called to say our flight had been cancelled.  I was so disappointed.  During our trek home, we debated driving but didn’t want to risk it.  In the end, we spent Christmas with Kit and Tanis.  Neal tried to salvage his plants, and I spent an afternoon building a snowman!  The snowman lasted for over a week.  He eventually melted and we had to go back to work, but we will always remember the winter we were snowed in!"

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