Hello

Hello,
  If you have stumbled across my blog, welcome!  I have recently signed up to be a Consultant with Close To My Heart.  What is Close To My Heart?  A scrapbooking, stamping, crafting company.  They have TONS of awesome products with outstanding quality!  Their Mission statement is:

We show you how to celebrate relationships through discovering your creativity, to preserve and share the moments that matter most.

  With three little boys, I love what this company stands for but even more than that I love getting my scrapbook supplies at a discount!  Did you cringe a little at the mention of scrapbooking?  Let me tell you that scrapbooking means something a little different to everyone.  There is no right or wrong way to tell your story, and that's exactly what it is, your story!  

  Scrapbooking was originally just collecting scraps (i.e. newspaper clippings) and glueing them in a book.  It's evolved from that and taken on many forms.  Now, some people will just put one picture on a page and have layers of embellishments, stickers, ink splotches, and stamping.  That's usually called Mixed Media.  There is also traditional scrapbooking, with how ever many photos you want on the page with a title and some embellishments that complement the photos.  Digital scrapbooking has grown in popularity too, mainly because you don't have to worry about purchasing tons of items to complete your layouts.  You can quickly put together an entire book and size your photos how big or small you want, as well as include some journaling.  The newer craze is pocket scrapbooking.  It includes using page protectors that have various sized slots and a kit of cards that are 2x3 and 4x6.  All of the cards in a kit will coordinate so you don't have to try to match colors.  Meaning, it's another faster option for getting the photos in a book and jotting down a few notes.  It's also meant to be used to document daily life rather than just big events.  You can even stamp and embellish the little cards so it doesn't limit your creativity!  There are also mini albums, these are sometimes themed or done as a gift.

  I think that seeing the importance of getting things documented comes from my Grandma.  My Grandma has photo albums for each Grandchild.  I have the most because I'm the favorite, just kidding!  I'm the oldest by a few years so I do have a couple more than everyone else.  I think it's important to be able to look back at the photos and remember the story behind that moment, or even something that someone said.  It gives you a glimpse of that person's personality and what they were like at a particular age.  

  So what is my scrapbooking style?  A little bit of everything, again there is no right or wrong way to document your story!  I tend to do more traditional scrapbooking, with pocket scrapbooking mixed in.  I really like that it's a creative outlet for me.  I also really love to include journaling.  My boys are hilarious!  At least I think so and I know if I don't write it down those funny little stories will be lost.  I'm excited to try digital which I plan to now with Close To My Heart, it's only $6.95 to print a 2-page layout.  That's some serious savings people!  If you figure in the cost of printing photos, paper, complements, etc.  That is an amazing deal plus they give you the jpg for free when you purchase prints.  I even like to take the page protectors that can hold 6 photos and stick them in there too.  Sometimes you take a lot of photos (or maybe that's just me), and you don't want to scrap them all but still want them to be included.  These work great when kids need photos for school projects and you can just slide them right out.  The best part is that every single one of these can be used together to create your scrapbook!

  So if you think that you are creatively challenged, don't have the space or want to have tons of stuff to store.  I would encourage you to try a workshop!  Or reach out to a Consultant who can help you get the photos out of the storage boxes and into a book where everyone can enjoy them.

I would love to help you out, my website is www.justineharris.ctmh.com