Close to my Heart Making Connections event

On Friday, April 17th, I had the opportunity to attend a regional Close to my Heart event in Livonia, Michigan with over one hundred of my fellow CTMH consultants.  The night started with a presentation by CTMH's Chief Operating Officer, Brian Holman.  Brian spoke about happiness and how happiness leads to success, not the other way around.  It was a great presentation.  After Brian's talk, we gathered for a group photo (below) and then began my favorite part of the evening, the creative session!

Our group with CTMH C.O.O., Brian Holman.

Before I show you the projects we made during the creative session, I want to share with you another highlight of the night.  As many of you know, Close to My Heart actively support Operation Smile -- an organization that provides free surgeries to repair cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities for children around the globe.  So as part of the Making Connections events, Close to my Heart designed and sold an exclusive a limited edition Base & Bling style sheet with all proceeds going to Operation Smile.  The Livonia group raised enough money to support 4 Operation Smile surgeries ($240 / surgery)!  And if that wasn't enough, several consultants donated various CTMH works of art which were auctioned off and raised enough for almost 6 surgeries -- bringing the grand total to nearly 10 life-changing Operation Smile surgeries.    I am so proud of not only our group, but all of the CTMH family who continue to support Operation Smile.  If you'd like to join in the effort, please contact me for more information.

Now onto the artwork... the creative session was designed to help us think outside of the box.  We were given one of the newest additions to the CTMH My Crush Line -- the My Crush for Her book and instructions on how to create two beautiful 2-pages layouts using 1 book plus some basic supplies and also a 6 card set from another book plus basic supplies.  I'll admit I may have shed a tear when I deconstruction the first book, but the final projects were SO WORTH it!!

My Crush for Her book

Here are the layouts...

Layout #1

We used one of the photo sleeves as a flip flap
and inserted one of the vellum pages.

Layout #2

And now the cards...

 

If you would like to try these layouts or cards yourself, please contact me today.  I have a supplies list available and would be happy to share the instructions with you if you purchase the supplies from my online store at jddesigns.ctmh.com.  Or if you are local to me in Grand Rapids, why not gather a group of your friends and host a craft night/afternoon?  I will order all the supplies in advance and bring them with me on the day of the event.

As always, to order any of Close to my Heart's fabulous products, please visit my online store at jddesigns.ctmh.com.

Until next time, happy crafting!